Modern Family

We’ve been having our February heat wave the past week or so. It happens every year in Portland and every year we all stand around and say, “Can you believe this?” And every year March it’s rainy and drab and people talk about that warm weather we had in February, thinking that maybe spring had come early this year. And then April and May and the first couple weeks of June are very rainy as well, with occasional breaks of clear, sunny days. Portland’s weather is surprisingly consistent throughout the year and Portland’s citizen’s are surprisingly caught off guard by its patterns. I get to talk about the weather a lot in my line of work, work that is as much about talking to people and interpreting their little idiosyncrasies as it is about serving flavored water.
Derryck and Meghan invited us back in December to a time-share in Gleneden Beach that Derryck’s mom had reserved, but couldn’t use. It so happened to fall on this very weekend so we left clear blue skies and warm weather and hit the beach which had clear blue skies and warm weather. The Oregon Coast is slave to no season, so the weather we experienced in February would be amazing and appreciated in July or any other month. It was absolutely incredible.

The waves were frighteningly large very close to the shore and we were warned of “sneaker waves.” We talked to the kids about it a bunch and I eventually set up a rock to designate a “do not cross” line. About forty seconds after setting up the rock, a huge wave came up twenty five feet past the “do not cross” line and the rock was gone.

The kids were mostly obsessed with their various electronic devices and spent any time allowed with their heads bowed over illuminated screens. Meghan showed them some new iphone games and it set up a beautiful modern day Rockwell painting. Suck it Norman!