Winds of Change

Talk to any resident of Wisconsin about the weather on a warm summer day and, without a doubt, they'll be tuned into the heat index. If they are wiping sweat off their brow, they'll tell you, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." Yes, we can tell the difference.

So, too, on a winter day, we amateur meteorologists can assess not only the temperature but the windchill factor. In fact, it becomes a source of bragging rights. And sometimes makes the national news.

Today, we probably will again. In the first time since I don't know when, pretty much every school in Wisconsin is closed today. And this time it's not due to some snow-dumping blizzard. It's just too darn cold!

We actually knew by the time we picked up Carter at the sitter's last night that school was already called off for today. They expected temps to drop to the minus teens or so and windchills to approach 35-45 below. And dang it, they were right.

We took Carter over to Jim's sister's last night and her son will watch him today. That gave us the chance to come into work early today. (Small rewards for the sick-minded.) I am on a mission to get stuff done today just in case we get a re-run tomorrow and I can be on day watch.

The good thing about most weather patterns is that they tend to come from the west, so whatever my dear friends and family suffer through in Minnesota usually arrives on our door step 24 hours later with a pretty pink bow on it! I guess it's kind of good. We are never truly caught off-guard. No complete surprises.

Wouldn't that be great if it worked that way in life, too? We saw everything coming. Knew when the humidity was going to skyrocket in the summer. Knew when there was going to be a shift in the winds that would plunge the temperature -- or, more literally, change the course of our lives. The weatherman could say, "And Robyn Austin will be in for a major change today..." And we could prepare.

We've had a lot of changes at work lately. A definite changing weather pattern. We feared it was another storm brewing. And for some, it was. For me, the winds came alright. But they didn't blow me away or cause any damage. They just steered me in a new direction. One I hope has more warm, sunny days than arctic blasts. But there are no guarantees with Mother Nature, are there?