Wonderful post about your son and his interest in weather. Nurturing those interests of his is so important. He’ll appreciate your encouragement for the rest of his life.
I grew up in cities and that’s where I’m most comfortable. I ended up raising my daughter in West Virginia. She embraced all things outdoor. Everything from white water rafting to mountain climbing to hiking both the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail and working in Hell’s Canyon for the YCC. Many of her adventures scared the hell out of me because they were so out of my comfort zone. I always encouraged her and kept my fears to myself. She did thank me for all that support and has kept the tradition going by encouraging her children to follow their dreams. My grandson is a forest ranger in Oregon. My granddaughter is an ICU nurse at the hospital in our town. My daughter works in healthcare too and still stays in touch with many of the people she met on her adventures. The hardest part of being a parent is standing back and letting them become the people they are meant to be.
You’re definitely on the right path with your son.
Will, wonderful story about Wynn. As a former meteorologist, I can say with reasonable certainty that once it is in your blood, the attraction to weather never fully leaves. The best part is nurturing that interest which you and your wife are doing beautifully. It's great that you had some snow in Athens for him to revel in. Enjoy the ride with him!
Wynn's story sounds exactly like my oldest son. Started out watching Twister (dozens of times), stormchaser vids on YT, doodling tornado stats and pics on his notebooks, watching The Weather Channel all the time...
Today he is 8 months past earning his degree in Meteorology/Atmospheric Science (UMD) and is doing climate research for a lab in Chicago (remotely, from our basement to save $$). In the fall he will start a Masters program in Climate Risk Management at, you guessed it, U of Illinois!
This could be Wynn's path. We need as many people on the climate problem as possible, I hope he sticks with it. And, yeah, we all think TWC naming storms is stupid... why are they still doing it?
Wonderful post about your son and his interest in weather. Nurturing those interests of his is so important. He’ll appreciate your encouragement for the rest of his life.
I grew up in cities and that’s where I’m most comfortable. I ended up raising my daughter in West Virginia. She embraced all things outdoor. Everything from white water rafting to mountain climbing to hiking both the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail and working in Hell’s Canyon for the YCC. Many of her adventures scared the hell out of me because they were so out of my comfort zone. I always encouraged her and kept my fears to myself. She did thank me for all that support and has kept the tradition going by encouraging her children to follow their dreams. My grandson is a forest ranger in Oregon. My granddaughter is an ICU nurse at the hospital in our town. My daughter works in healthcare too and still stays in touch with many of the people she met on her adventures. The hardest part of being a parent is standing back and letting them become the people they are meant to be.
You’re definitely on the right path with your son.
Wynn’s sweater is on point, of course
You have an awesome son, Will.
Well, he's not a teenager yet!
Will, wonderful story about Wynn. As a former meteorologist, I can say with reasonable certainty that once it is in your blood, the attraction to weather never fully leaves. The best part is nurturing that interest which you and your wife are doing beautifully. It's great that you had some snow in Athens for him to revel in. Enjoy the ride with him!
This is good to know! We're hoping this sticks. I'd be curious to tap your brain about the profession!
Would be happy to do so.
It’s a beautiful thing to see kids have passion and take initiative. That’s fun for you guys. Thanks for sharing.
And be sure to start checking the weather before you go out after the rapture.
Wynn's story sounds exactly like my oldest son. Started out watching Twister (dozens of times), stormchaser vids on YT, doodling tornado stats and pics on his notebooks, watching The Weather Channel all the time...
Today he is 8 months past earning his degree in Meteorology/Atmospheric Science (UMD) and is doing climate research for a lab in Chicago (remotely, from our basement to save $$). In the fall he will start a Masters program in Climate Risk Management at, you guessed it, U of Illinois!
This could be Wynn's path. We need as many people on the climate problem as possible, I hope he sticks with it. And, yeah, we all think TWC naming storms is stupid... why are they still doing it?
Holy cow! This is fantastic. Congratulations to you and your son. We may reach out to you all at some point!