Marriage Update: Forecast Calls For Spouse Who Will Obsess About Weather

I grew up with a father who was obsessed (and still is) about the weather. I remember that if there was any forecast of inclement weather, my dad would open the front door and look outside to see if it had started yet. He'd open the door and see the snow coming down and say, "Wow." While my mother was working in the evening, my brother and would regularly sit there at dinner and watch my dad get up and go to the door to check. So, guess what? I'm now the same guy. With the forecast of an impending blizzard, it's just about all I can think about. I've been through some bad ones, too. I recall the Blizzard of '79, when we sledded off the roof of our house and our shed collapsed under the weight of the snow. Think I'm just fascinated by its power. It's the whole "Don't mess with God" mentality. No matter what man builds, there's no stopping an angry storm, tsunami, hurricane, ice storm, etc. Well, aside from this grand respect for God's power, my wife thinks I'm a RWF (Ridiculous Weather Freak). With this new blizzard forecast, I talk about precautions we need to take, but it's nothing out of the ordinary. I just don't want to have to trudge to the grocery store in the snow, so I say, "We need extra groceries." She thinks I'm trying to purchase MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) from the military and hole up in our basement with a space heater. I ask her where the snow shovel is so we don't have to hunt for it. "Is it in storage?" I ask. "Don't worry," she says. She thinks the storm will peter out and we'll get a few inches. I think it will be Snowmageddon. This is just another wonderful example of opposites attracting. I'm convinced it's God's way of letting people know that He likes to be entertained.

So, the running bet between me and my wife is that if we get more than a foot of snow, she has to address me as "Weather Guru" for a full day. If I lose, and we get less than a foot, I have to say, "I tend to exaggerate when it comes to weather," whenever she tells me to say it. Ah yes, the significant milestones in marriage. Apparently, major (or minor) weather events mark some of them in ours.