“Winter storm Maya arrived in Seattle?!?” That is the text message I woke to yesterday. Laughing as I crawled out of bed I marveled that my friends in Arizona followed our local weather so closely. A few hours later another reference to ‘me’ taking Seattle by storm hit my inbox. Starting to feel a little guilty for this unusual weather pattern in the Pacific Northwest, I did not understand why my friends and family were blaming ‘me’ for this unprecedented weather. I moved here just four weeks ago from the desert southwest…there is no possible correlation between my monumental move and this snowy weather!
I powered through the day on Friday, deciding to leave early because the forecast was looking dire. Actually, so much so that First Lady Michelle Obama’s tour date in Tacoma was canceled (yes, she will always be our First Lady). I shuffled home through the snow that was beginning to accumulate midday causing the sidewalks to become slick and dangerous. As I entered the lobby of my apartment building, I looked at my phone and again yet another message about ‘Maya’ reeking havoc on Seattle. I was being blamed for the bad weather, and beginning to feel omnipotent since I apparently caused the storm of the century in Washington state.
Stripping off the layers: down coat, sweater, turtle neck, and woolens, I settled in and called my mom by Skype to show her the beautiful winter scene outside. She laughed and said, “we saw on the Weather Channel that Winter Storm Maya was descending upon Seattle.”
“What, do you mean, they actually name winter storms and this one is named Maya?” I quipped. Turning the television on as I chatted with mom, there on the Weather Channel was the headline: Winter Storm Maya approaching, Seattle…expecting up to eight inches of accumulation. A rare occurrence indeed since the city of Seattle typically has less than five inches of snow annually. This is all significant to me because I was told during my job interviews, it only snows twice a year and the snow never last more than a day or two. Yeah right! This is our second storm with significant accumulation in two weeks. Superbowl Sunday was a total whiteout here!
Mystery solved, settling in for two days indoors, I am thankful to have provisions for the weekend, which I purchased the night before the storm. The trip to the grocery store was its own adventure. You should have seen the lines of frenzied shoppers who emptied the shelves in preparation for the storm of the century, Maya.
Seattle, I am here!
Maya, your writing is just as lovely and lyrical as it was in our grad program. Best of luck to you in your new home!