The funny thing about June Gloom is that its characteristics have also been around for December, January, February, March, April and May, but since its title is formally tied to a particular month, many of us suddenly take notice and validate its moniker.

“Wow, June really is a gloomy month!” I heard someone say earlier today.

“Yeah, no kidding, it must be the cloudiest month out of the whole year,” was the other person’s reply.

Hm. Well, I don’t know about that.

And, really, we’re not being fair to June if we simply call it gloomy, because much of the time the gray matter burns off after the morning, leaving us with a glorious afternoon. When evening rolls around, so do the low clouds and fog. I’d be irked if I was June, as I’d much prefer to be remembered for my bright, sunny disposition that’s apparent for most of the daytime hours — not something the exact opposite of what my name stands for.

After all, when we think of June, we probably think of the official start of summer, ice cream cones, frosty beverages, school being out, beach balls, bathing suits, beach towels, campfires and s’mores — all things that we would likely not want any part of during, for example, December (except that school thing).

The bottom line is that we have expectations of June. And even though a foggy morning may be perfectly acceptable on the morning of May 31st, the first of June gets our wrath when it shows up in the same outfit.

I personally love June gloom, because it’s the best of both worlds for me: gray mornings followed by sunny afternoons, followed by gray evenings. I love seeing the low clouds rush by overhead, and I love that moment in the late afternoon when the clouds are indistinguishable from the fog. Suddenly they’re all just grayish-white tufts in the sky, or they’re colored in delicate pastel shades if a sunset has its way. Either way, they’re beautiful. I will always love December and our “winter” season more, but for now, the many faces of June are a nice way for me to ease into summer.

Tonight I am thankful for the beauty of June gloom and for the pale mornings which make me feel like December is tugging on my shirt, politely asking me to not forget about it. I feel the two months are kindred spirits, especially in SoCal — we’ve been known to have an 80-degree Christmas once or twice before, and here we are with our June gloom…gloominess that we’d rather have on those 80-degree mornings sitting around the tree. In my way of thinking, neither month wants to be forgotten while we’re busy celebrating the many things each month is known for, so they’ve arranged a kooky climate for us.

But at the end of the day, we’re onto them, and we know the shenanigans they’ll pull as they try to confuse us. It’s all good, though. We have our partnerships with friends and loved ones, and so they can have theirs, too.