The Son of a Weatherman
By Sean Downey on March 30, 2012, 11:05am
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This is my son, Aidan. He’s your typical six-year old, loves playing video games, basketball, and riding his bike. He is also a weather nut - almost as big a nut as I am. My wife says that’s my fault, and I have to agree. It’s got to be hard to be the son of someone who runs outside every time the skies get really dark, or the wind picks up, or it snows sideways. When he gets older, I’m sure I’ll be the crazy dad. But for now, at least, he is right there with me when I do my “crazy weather thing.”
Most kids are naturally afraid of thunderstorms – they are loud, noisy, and scary, right? Well, Aidan is no exception. I remember early last June; we had some nasty thunderstorms rolling through the area. It was about 2 AM and I was awakened by the almost continuous thunder and lightning, so I went downstairs to watch the storm through the big picture window. It was not long before Aidan came downstairs, wide eyed and scared. Ever try explaining thunder to a six year old? Most parents will tell their kids that the thunder is “the angels bowling” or “two clouds bumping into each other”. Not me. I tried explaining that thunder is the sound that the lightning makes and how to tell how far the lightning hit (one Mississippi two Mississippi..). We looked at the radar and I showed him how the storms were tracking and what the different colors meant. After awhile he was calm enough to go back asleep, but that started the nightly routine of asking me if it was going to thunder every night after prayers (“Daddy, clear?” “Yes Aidan, clear”). Even my youngest, Eric, won’t go to sleep now without hearing the one word forecast.
Irene brought many questions about wind and why the power went out and why there was so much water. The October snowstorm brought questions about why it snowed on Halloween and we couldn’t go trick-or-treating. This past winter, when I was looking at model output and trying to make forecasts, he was right there with me, looking at the maps, asking questions. We go for walks, and he is very inquisitive about the sky and clouds.
I think I’ve created a monster. He hears the weather forecast on the radio or TV and has to come into my room (at 5 AM) and announce that it is going to rain or snow today. He calls Gramma to tell her it’s going to rain and that she should not worry it will be over soon. He makes little signs with the forecast and taped them up all over the house. He goes to school and gives forecasts to his friends. The other day, I overheard a conversation between him and Eric about why it rains. It was pretty funny – they were so serious about it. We are going on a cruise in August, and I am already getting questions about what the weather is going to be like!
I caught the weather bug when I was about his age, and I gotta admit - it’s kinda neat to see my son following in my footsteps and sharing my love for the weather.
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