An Obsession with Weather

My husband is obsessed with the Weather Channel. He can sit in front of the TV and watch it for hours at a time! This used to shock me because he's an active person with a need to be constantly busy. Do the patterns and repetition calm him? Is he fascinated by what he can't control? No idea.

This morning, I found myself watching the forecast, anticipation burning inside me. After a very mild Autumn, the weather is about to change here in the heartland. One of the best things about living in Kansas is the seasons. An old joke goes something like, "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes." Sometimes, that's literally true!

For Midwesterners, perhaps this fascination with weather comes from farming ancestry and the necessity of divining when to plant, when to harvest. Or, perhaps the stark landscape and austere surroundings leave very little to talk about and so we recognize the beauty in what we have. Or, perhaps the weather extremes, which we are privy to, both fascinate and repel us, leaving us constantly on guard. Either way, most of the native population is weather savvy.

So now comes winter, barreling down from the Rockies, ready or not. And with it, comes the reminders, deep in my joints, that I'm no longer a spring chicken. The older I get, the more I recognize the reasons for summer homes in Florida. I have a friend there who may get a winter visitor! :) But not before I see the magical transformation of snow wiping clean the past year and readying all for the spring, and bringing the hope of possibilities.