"Weather"

I was raised in a classic Midwestern home. We talked about the weather...a lot. My dad, God love him, found watching the weather channel entertaining. And the radar channel was common (for those who did not grow up in the Midwest, the radar channel is one where you can watch the local radar on a continuous loop while listening to a computerized voice report the temperature - high class television). Between the weather channel and the radar channel, my dad was able to let me know what to expect on any given day, actually any given hour. No matter that the forecasts were often wrong. We still were always prepared, just as any good boy/girl-scout would be.

So, when I moved to Maine, I was curious to see if the obsession with 'weather' would continue. It turns out, that...yes, the weather is even a bigger deal here in Maine. I know this because today, we had 'weather.' I am not sure if this type of weather is best described as a noun or verb. It seems to be more of a state of being. "There is going to be 'weather'" is something that I hear a great deal about. The patients at my hospital often have nothing better to do than stay on top of the 'weather' and then tell me what is happening outside at any given moment. It is like I have a whole building full of my dads, keeping me up to date, making sure that I have my ice-scrapper within immediate reach 24/7.

However, there is one thing unique about Maine that I did not experience in the Midwest. Here, the people who bring me my local news wear special clothes when "there is going to be 'weather'". I started to notice this special attire during the week long build-up before my first Nor'Easter (I kid you not, a WEEK long build-up where it was the headline news). Finally, when the day arrived that the first flakes were meant to fly, I realized that all of my early morning newscasters were dressed differently. Normally dressed in suits, skirts, and ties, I was surprised to see that each of them were wearing sweaters. Good, cable-knit, LL Bean, sweaters (for those of you that don't know, Maine is the home of the LL Bean mother-ship). I chalked it up to coincidence. That is until the next event of 'weather'. Once again, my early morning TV companions were wearing sweaters, foregoing their tailored suits for the warmth needed to talk about the 'weather'. I decided that I would too fit in with the tradition of Maine and wear my very own LL Bean sweater in the traditional cable-knit style. I am learning to embrace my new home and all of its 'weather' traditions. My dog also is learning to embrace the 'weather'.

I won't go into details but lets just say that after our first significant snowfall, poor Boomer was unable to poo for 36 hours. Unable to figure out how to utilize the new snow, his whole digestive system shut down. Needless to say, I was a bit concerned. That is until I thought that perhaps he was feeling left out of the Maine 'weather' tradition. So, I bought him his very own LL Bean cable-knit sweater to sport on his outdoor excursions. Ever since, everything is moving smoothly.