Monday, April 18, 2011

Walk this way

Some people might say I'm obsessed with the weather. Cory, more specifically, might say that. I like to watch the weather every morning on the Today Show. I try to watch it every night on the 10 o'clock news. (Truth be told, sometimes I fall asleep before it actually comes on. Ok, truth again, a lot of the time I fall asleep before it comes on. It would be so much easier if it were the first thing on the news.) I even have a digital thermometer telling me the exact temperature outside my back door. It never occurred to me that this behavior was odd. I like to know. I like to be prepared. I like to know if I need to wear my shorts or a sweater. My snow boots or my rain coat. My bikini or my stilettos. Oh wait, that's not me, that's my thermometer's weather girl.

 When I bought the thermometer, I was excited for an illustration of how to dress in the different temps. I didn't realize this is what the makers had in mind.
And this? It's just ridiculous. I've had to hide her away so we're not constantly staring at the cover of Playboy in out kitchen.

Anyway, one summer, in college, I went to spend a week at my grandmother's house in Tucson, Arizona. I kept with my normal routine of getting up and watching the weather. It wasn't until about day three that I realized the habit was ridiculous in Arizona. Seriously, it was 95 and sunny every single day. No variation. Being a weather person in Arizona has to be the easiest job in the world. Being a weather person in Kansas? Not so easy. We all joke that our weather guys can never seem to get it right, but really, it's quite a tricky task. Remember just last week when I was lamenting the unpredictable nature of Kansas weather? I'm sure you all were just dying for a story to illustrate that point. So, here ya go:

Last weekend, Cory, Molly, Charlotte and I went down to the Plaza to participate in the MS Walk. We have a good friend Teresa who has MS, and we joined up with Team Teresa. I will admit, I do a lot of runs/races, but the ones I do don't always have a specific, meaningful-for-me charity attached. So, to be able to do the MS Walk, well, I was just really happy to do it. The weather started off beautiful. And, the mercury kept rising. By the end of the three-mile walk, it was in the 80s. Hot. I was sweating and sunburned. We could've kept going for the six-mile walk, but all the kids were wilting, so we were done.
Donuts before the walk started.
Team Teresa's littlest walkers. Charlotte and Molly are on the left, next to Teresa.
Family photo at the end of the walk. You can't tell, but we're all sweaty.
The walk took place smack-dab in the middle of Charlotte's morning nap time. She was not having the stroller, so Cory put her on his shoulders. Next thing you know, she's passed out. I absolutely LOVE this picture. 

Ok, so fast-forward all of one week. For some reason, there is both a MS Walk in Kansas City, and an MS Walk in Johnson County. We've done the Johnson County MS Walk for the past several years on our friend Chrissy's team, "Chrissy's Angels." So, because we just really want to stomp out MS, we decided to do both walks this year. Now, let's think back to the point of this whole post. The unpredictable nature of Kansas weather. Team Teresa MS Walk - hot, sunny, sweaty. Chrissy's Angels MS Walk - see below:
Eating donuts before the walk started.

Everyone all bundled up, ready to start walking.
Yes, you can see from the only two pictures I have from the second walk - it was FREEZING. The wind was howling and biting. It was brutal. We actually only made it halfway through the three-mile walk, because the kids were all miserable. Don't tell anyone, but we took a shortcut and hightailed it to our car. Ugh.

So, there you have it. The reason why I obsessively watch the weather predictions every day. It's not like I can do anything about it, but I like to know just the same. We can have a 50 degree variation in temperature in a week's time. If I weren't checking, who knows? I could've shown up at the second walk wearing only my bikini. Nope, wait, that's not me. That's my darn weather girl again. I sure hate to see what she'd be wearing if she were in Arizona ...

1 comment:

  1. 1. I've never seen a thermometer that shows pictures. Can you change the pic from a girl to a guy? ha!
    2. LOVE the pic of Charlotte and Cory! How stinkin' cute!

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