Marsi White - Mom, What's the Weather Going to be Like Today?

Have you ever woken up on a cold morning to the smell of something baking in the oven? I know I have. And if there was not something baking, then it was the crackle of bacon luring me out of bed.

This morning, I was not so lucky. I was awakened at 5:00 because I was cold. After the high heat and humidity that has plagued recent months, the cold was a welcome feeling. However, not nearly as enjoyable at 5:00 a.m. After fighting for covers all night with my seven year old, who staggered into my bed after a playful accident gave her a fat lip that required some TLC, an ice pack and Ibuprofen at 9:30 last night, I gave up, grabbed my slippers and robe, and sought my morning coffee.

Everyone in my house was still asleep, as was the sun. I knew it was not supposed to rain today, however. This was pretty much in line with my first thoughts of the day every day: what does the weather have in store for us? After living in Southern California for most of my life, it almost seems silly to worry about the weather. A waste of a thought. What do we get, 10 days of rain a year? A few of days of cold. A handful of nights when you need an actual “winter coat”?

Before I was a mother, I remember the most that I had to worry about was how cold the office might be that day. If I don’t wear socks, will my feet freeze? And then of course, before I was married, the thought was more along the lines of, “how little can I wear and not look stupid for baring too much skin when it is not 85-degrees out?” OK, so maybe that was in high school. I was surely more mature than that in college.

Either way, now that I am the mother of two, sending my kids off for ten hour days of school and after care, I am in constant commune with The Weather Channel icon on my iPad. Commonly, the first words of the day that I hear from my children are, “Mom, what’s the weather going to be like today?” My iPad is never far and within seconds, we are discussing possible outfit combinations: “Long sleeve shirt and shorts?”; “Jeans and short sleeve shirt?”; or, “No, I do not think today is good day for spaghetti straps.” My daughter thought it was real funny this week when I told her that she would not need an umbrella, only to find that it was stormy all day. When I finally picked her up around 4:30, she proudly exclaimed, “Mom, you were so wrong!”

That I was. Truthfully, I worried about my kids all day long, that day. I even contemplated picking them up early just so they could be home in cozy sweats and warm. Mind you, they did not go to school in flip flops, so I guessed that their at least their feet would have not turned to icicles. However, I envisioned my daughter violently trembling in the far corner of the playground. As for my son, I knew that he would play a vigorous game of soccer at recess and would ignore the cold. However, I feared that the cold air that he did not acknowledge would translate into him catching some early flu bug that would knock him down for the count.

As much as I worry about the kids, I often miss the boat when it comes to dressing myself. As I sit in my office now, my feet are freezing. But I look professional and cute, right? Admittedly, I care about my presentation. Besides warm, fuzzy socks are not appropriate business attire, anyway. And if they cannot be warm and fuzzy socks, then what is the point?

As we move into fall in Southern California, the weather is cooling. I know that dressing in layers will be the order of the day for my kids. My iPad will be at my side ready to assist in me in my function as the human barometer of our household.

This morning, I contested the cold by making warm banana bread. I wanted my kids to wake up to its tantalizing aroma. It didn’t matter what they wore today. . . but their bellies would be happy.