The Weather Girl

It’s a bit of an accepted fact. I remember when I was at school teachers telling me that windy days make kids a bit crazy. Full moons are worse, but a rainy day always means the blues. Sunshine makes us happy and people are affected by SAD – Seasonally affected disorder. There are summer people and winter people, hotties and ice-queens (or kings), just like (seemingly arbitrarily) there are dog people and cat people.

So the weather has a big affect on us. Weather that suits us has a positive affect on us, and weather we hate does the opposite. I suppose there are universal exceptions; I can’t imagine anyone really enjoying getting stuck in the pouring, freezing rain whilst our walking a long way from home, and I doubt that Bourke and Wills enjoyed the fine weather they experienced.

But I guess the old cliché “mind over matter” holds true, whether it’s a conscious decision or not.

Today was one of those days which consists of the best that Spring in Sydney can throw at you. I’ve gone from stinking hot and sweating, to freezing and fighting the wind and sleet in one long day[1].

I met up with a couple of friends after work for a quick drink, so headed home an hour or so (maybe 2, if I’m going to be honest here) later than I usually would. I hopped off the train and headed down the short stroll to home. I couldn’t read my book, and the flimsy cardigan I grabbed this morning (just in case) seemed as useless as a chocolate teapot[2].

I made it down the road and through the gate into the yard…feeling a bit sorry for myself and grumbling internally about the unpredictable weather and getting stuck out in the cold at this time of year. Then all of a sudden, something clicked. I looked around me, and somehow my perspective changed. I saw the trees and the bushes flying around, and the spring jasmine revoking its right to lazily exude its heady scent in favour of a wider-ranging more adventurous dispersion.

Somehow, without warning, the wild weather made me feel alive. A grin spread across my face and I unfurled my foetal pose to embrace the storm. I looked around a few minutes in wonder at the passion and the fury and beauty of it all. And then I headed inside to the comfort of my warm home, encouraged by the contrast between cosy shelter and the formidable fury of Mother Nature outside.

[1] And I’ve just had the weird weather reports of snow and hail around the country pop up on the late news, so I guess, relatively speaking, on the weired-o-metre things really weren’t that bad here
[2] OK, so it’s one of my favourite sayings at the moment, but I have to admit that I stole it from some show on the ABC a while back