Should we need to be reminded why we love the place where we live, there is usually a sign. I remember on the coldest of cold nights in Boston becoming giddy upon entering a particularly warm bar packed with all my friends, so happy that we'd all braved the cold (there was no choice, it was always cold) to socialize. As a child growing up in D.C., it was a trip to the National Mall to ride the carousel, and when I got a little bit older, a trip to the same grand stretch of city to stare at the Capitol Building, which I still say is one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen. And in North Carolina, it's this time of year. The weather starts to turn warm again - even before it's really appropriate people jump the gun and have got their flip flops on and as night falls, get really, really cold, because let's face it, it's not summer YET, but the season is on it's way and we can't wait.

I'm always amazed how excited I get - how everyone seems to get - when the warm weather returns because it never really gets that cold in North Carolina so it's not like we've been that hard up. I think that down here it's not so much that we've been braving a harsh winter per se, and need a break - it's more that when even the most subtle hint of the new season (the birds, the girls in flowered dresses, the lone daffodil) appears, we feel we are returning to the norm. Snow in Chapel Hill is like a nationally sanctioned day of rest. Nobody knows what to do so they cower indoors. But in the warm weather, these people, they flourish.

In addition, there's all the basketball, and with North Carolina's men's team winning the ACC championship game this weekend, well, everyone is in a very good mood.

If anyone would like to share some thoughts about they place they live, or the warmer season approaching, please do so in the comments, because I'd love to hear what's going on with my friends (and some strangers) all over the country.