My Take

by Ang

I hit the 3-month mark of my living here in New Mexico. I think I’m adjusting very well, considering all of the huge changes I’ve gone through (moving, getting married, new job, new home, etc.). I still have rough days where I miss my family like crazy. For example, my 8-year-old nephew called me last Friday night while I was at a restaurant with my husband. I talked to him for about 15 minutes. Then when I handed the phone over to hubby so that he could talk to him, I burst into tears. I had to put on my sunglasses and go to the restroom to compose myself.

So I do have a bad day every now and then, but who doesn’t?

Anyways, I thought I would share my thoughts and my take on New Mexico so far. So here goes.

It’s pretty. There’s mountains to the east and north. To the west is the Rio Grande, desert and volcanoes. Lots to look at! The mountains are especially beautiful in the morning and at sunset.

It’s dry. I drink twice as much water here as I did in Nebraska. Even my cats drink more water (seriously). And I use twice as much lotion. We haven’t had a good rain in weeks. Which brings me to the weather...

The sun shines at least 300 days out of the year. Most normal people would like this, but I am LONGING for a good thunderstorm. My husband keeps telling me to wait until August (the rainiest month here). We will occasionally get these big threatening clouds and it will sprinkle for maybe 5 minutes and then they move on. It’s a big tease! It’s been warm (mid-90s) but there’s no humidity, so it doesn’t feel that hot to me. People keep saying how hot it is, but they probably haven’t been through Midwestern summers - 100 degree weather with 80% humidity. Trust me - it’s NOT that hot here. The winters are mild. We get snow occasionally but I guess it melts within 2 hours. (I have yet to witness snow in Albuquerque because I moved at the end of March).

For some reason, I thought when I moved here that my allergies would magically disappear. I was wrong. They got worse. There’s a whole new set of stuff growing out here. There’s also the wind. I think May and June are the windy months. Everything just blows around, so I’ve been taking more Benedryl since I’ve lived here.

The people are very nice. Everything seems to move at a slower pace here. People don’t seem to be in a huge hurry.

The traffic isn’t terrible. It’s not great, but not terrible. It takes me about 15 minutes to get to work in the mornings and about 20 minutes to get home. All interstate. But everything else I need is within a 10 minute drive.

The food is good. Especially the Mexican food! I’m starting to really like green chili. Every Sunday morning I make a big breakfast and I’ve been putting green chili in our scrambled eggs. Yum! And I no longer ask for it on the side when we go to restaurants. Progress!

So my only complaints are my worsened allergies and…..I think that’s it! Not too bad, huh? I really love it here. Which is good because we aren’t going anywhere!!