Changes in the weather

I am writing this during a blizzard. But not just any blizzard; a Missouri blizzard. For those of you who have never experienced snow in Missouri, it's quite a trip. It typically goes something like this:

1. A forecast is given for snow. People get nervous.

2. If the forecast is calling for more than 2 inches of snow, people get really nervous.

3. Those nervous people go to the grocery stores (gotta get bread and milk) and the post office. The forecast "on the street" has suddenly changed to 8 inches of snow with -20 degree wind chills and possible ice.

4. It snows. We get half an inch of accumulation.

Now, this is the typical scenario. What's going on outside right now is a different story. We are actually having a legitimate blizzard, although I really don't think it's going to be as bad as the forecast. We're supposed to get 18-24 inches of snow. I think it will be more like a foot.

But boy, has this weather caused some excitement down here. Grocery stores were practically ransacked. Businesses, schools, even garbage pickups and doctors offices, have shut down. Heck, I've hardly seen a snowplow go by my house. People are freaked out.

That's the thing I've noticed the most since I've moved here. People in different regions handle the weather so much differently. Out here, snow is a monumental event. They don't get that much of it, so they aren't prepared for it. Where I come from in Pennsylvania, everyone is used to snow. And they should be. It snows about 7 months out of the year there. Yes, they complain about the snow, but it's just normal, everyday griping.

Summers are much different. Missourians gripe about the summer heat the way Pennsylvanians gripe about snow. In Missouri, it's not unusual to have weeks of the highs inching up to 100 and the lows a "balmy" 90 degrees. Hence, my lack of sympathy when I hear people in Pennsylvania complain about having a weekend or two of 90-degree heat. If Pennsylvanians had to deal with Missouri heat for a week, they'd all think the world was ending.

But regardless of whether it's snow or heat, I've found that since I've moved I have very little patience for people who complain about the weather. Personally, I like how the weather changes, from day to day and region to region, and I enjoy getting a taste of the unexpected. Moreover, what's the point in complaining? Is the weather really making your life that miserable? If it is, then perhaps you should move.

The weather is one of those things in life that we just can't change. Why complain about it? I'd much rather spend my energy on things I can actually do something about.