“That’s why Camilla and I got married,” said Denniston as they drove off. “We both like Weather. Not this or that kind of weather, but just Weather. It’s a useful taste if one lives in England.”
-C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength
When I came home from work that blustery January, I found the door of my small house wide open and repeatedly slamming against the aluminum siding, putting up no protest at all against the wind. I sighed with exasperation at my absent-minded roommates, who had left the house five hours earlier, and got down to the business of clearing the accumulated snow from the entryway.
My room in the attic of the little house, it turned out, wasn’t very well insulated. Thanks to the open door, all accumulated heat had escaped from it hours before I arrived home and it was 40 degrees. The little borrowed space heater wasn’t up to the job of warming up my room while it was well below freezing outside, but I had a winter-weight sleeping bag and a warm woolen hat (I had just learned to knit), so I sighed and went to bed anyway. It was just Weather, showing me that it was the boss—as it would many more times during my sojourn in Alaska.
I had moved to Juneau to take a new job and go on a grand adventure. And while I lived there, I loved Weather. Truth be told, you can’t survive in Juneau unless you do. It’s rainier than Seattle. There is so little sunshine that locals take sun days instead of snow days. Whether the sun peeked out even part of the way, people would call out of work to go hiking in the lush temperate rainforest that surrounds the town.
And when it rained—or snowed—we went hiking anyway. It was while I lived in Juneau that I realized a plasticky rain slicker wasn’t the right gear for hanging out in the rain. But with a breathable, waterproof jacket and a good pair of tall rain boots, you can tramp through the woods for hours. I had come from the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, and it wasn’t until Juneau that I realized not all socks were made of cotton. I had to buy a pair of warm wool ones in a hurry while on a trip to a February music festival in the Yukon Territory that was aptly named “Frostbite.”
Alaska taught me that the best way to enjoy Weather is to be prepared for it. When you don’t have to worry about your bodily comfort, it’s so much easier to revel in the beauty of nature in any season and any conditions.
It’s been nearly 20 years since I left Juneau. Since then, I’ve had a lot of other adventures, but somewhere along the way, I’ve lost my taste for Weather. It’s time to reclaim it. I think I’ll start with the simple idea that Camilla shares in That Hideous Strength:
“Any child loves rain if it’s allowed to go out and paddle about in it.”
Be right back. I have to go get my paddle.
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