Visiting Florida Weather Forecaster of the Year

I fell into the trap....
I crossed the Georgia border into Florida and I fell...
deep, deep, deep.

I just wanted to get away for a little while ~ away from the ringing phones, away from the 34 daily spam emails, away from the pressures of work, and the grind of keeping a showplace house-beautiful. I hadn't been feeling so great health-wise the last few weeks and I knew that going to SUNNY Florida would be just what the Doctor ordered.
(Actually, he didn't order it or I could have written off the whole trip from my taxes as a Prescription..darn it!)

Now..back to the big FALL into the proverbial trap...

I became...(oh, this is so hard to admit)..yes, I became...an obnoxious in-your-non-tanned-face perfect weather informer.

In the past, whenever I have spoken on the phone with a friend who has re-located from the north to the south, the first thing out of their mouth is the temperature and forecast. "It is a beautiful sun-shiny perfect 83.4 degrees with a slight gulf breeze that makes it perfect for boating, golfing, swimming, jogging, playing the flute outside, and tomorrow will even be better, if you can imagine!"
I have always wanted to hang up on such prattle, but manage to wait until I am off the phone to call them unsavory names.
I think that everyone who buys a home in Florida are required to take (and pass with honors) a meteorologist class.


So, back to me (MY favorite subject)....
As I was driving down south and realized that our car was in Lake City, Florida...I
uncontrollably spontaneously began to spew forth observations and predictions about the weather.

OK..then it really kicked in.
I bought an inside-outside thermometer before we even checked in to our rented condo.
When we arrived, I immediately called everyone north of Atlanta to leave annoying messages on their voice mail informing them of the incredible weather we were experiencing...and how they were NOT.

After we had been there 42 minutes and had unpacked most everything, I kicked into high "weather-alert" mode and drove to the nearest electronics store and purchased a $821. weather scanner so I could be Weather-Woman Informer Of The Year - knowing first hand the barometric pressure and the sea-worthiness of boating, etc. (we were staying 2 hours from either coast so boating was not in our plans)ok..this is all a lie and I hope know that....

I would awaken each morning with a job to do that I took very seriously, checking the thermometer, the scanner, the weather channels, the local and national paper's forecasts. (again, a fabrication)

There was even the time I completely lost my mind and called the USA Today and the CBS weather editors to inform them of their amateur errors in the forecast for Florida and that I would be happy to assist them for the next 3 weeks as a local weather correspondent.

I actually became so obsessed with this responsibility, that I was missing my swimming pool time....and trust me, there was no "Happy Hour" when I had to keep track of the possible cloud cover coming in two days.

I am now back at my Ohio home with no worries about the weather because I know the old saying "just wait 15 minutes and it will change"....I have cancelled my subscription to the monthly magazines, "Weather Forecasts Are US" and "Sunny Skies" because my time is being taken up with trying to lure some of my friends back who I annoyed.