Living in weather oblivion

When we lived in Hawaii, Jason and I used to joke that the qualifications for becoming a weather-person there were a limited command of the English language and maybe a pulse.  Because every single day, with very limited exceptions (like gusts of wind that shut down the entire island of Oahu), it was 83 degrees and sunny.  

And sometimes having so much sameness in the weather could get boring.  I missed the seasons, particularly the crazy bursts of color and warmth that erupt in Atlanta every March and April.  

But there's also something kind of nice about never having to check the weather report.  I didn't have to worry about whether a particular outfit was weather-appropriate.  I could walk outside in a tank top and shorts pretty much every day, and know that I was going to be perfectly comfortable.  The only thing we used the weather report for was to determine where on the island there would be good waves, so we could plan our surf outings accordingly.

The thing about living in that kind of oblivion is that it's a hard habit to break.  

Which is a problem if you're living in Denver.  Because here, the weather could be 70 degrees and sunny one day, and then 30 degrees and snowing the next.  

And there's no normal level of gradation to increases or decreases in temperature.  We arrived here in late February.  For the first 3 weeks we were here, it was in the high 60s and 70s, sunny and beautiful (if a tad on the dry side).  Then there was a blizzard.  Then it warmed up again.  Then it cooled off again.  Then it seemed that spring had arrived.  It's been very pleasant that last couple of weeks, with the trees budding and the grass getting greener.

And sometimes I was aware of what the weather was supposed to do, but usually I wasn't, because I still have not gotten into the habit of checking the local news for the weather.

Take this week, for example.  My brother Sam is doing a big gig with his band tomorrow night in New York City.  I've had plans to go for a month.  My mom and dad and my brother Josh will be there as well.  It's a big deal.  I've been looking forward to seeing the family, and to being able to sleep through the night without having to wake up to Zeke crying or Jason snoring or the poor blind dog banging into a wall.

So color me astonished yesterday when I was in a meeting with some folks at work, and they started talking about the blizzard due to hit tonight.

And I'm all, "the what with the what now?  What freaking blizzard??"

Apparently, we could get over a foot of snow from storms that are supposed to start tonight and last through Saturday.  Which is a problem when I'm supposed to be on a flight that leaves tomorrow morning.  According to the weather report that I finally bothered to look at, it's dumping snow in the mountains right now, and Denver is right on the edge of where the storm could be snow or could be rain, depending on whether it's a couple of degrees colder or warmer.  So I could be fine, or I could be snowed in.  Nothing to do but wait.

And it's not as if being aware of the storm sooner rather than later would have made any difference.  I can't control it either way, obviously.  But it's still taking some getting used to, this notion that changes in the weather can affect my life at all.