A lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving

It’s been just over a year since I settled back in Milwaukee. And looking back at all the good fortune I see I have much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving.

My wife, Amy, and I opened the door to our new home 13 months ago. But the next few months were spent unpacking boxes and discovering items you once thought were lost forever. Life was so hectic making the move and starting 2 new jobs that it was hard to realize how well things would turn out. Besides getting the offer that summer to come to FOX6 (and having the good fortune to have a TV contract coming to an end with my old station), Amy also found a full time job teaching 5th grade. She got her job offer the same day we accepted an offer for our home in Green Bay, on Friday the 13th! These days we look forward to Friday the 13th as our lucky day.

Once at FOX6 it took a few days to get over the amazement that I work at the TV station I grew up watching. Of course it helps that I work with a team of down to earth reporters, anchors, and meteorologists. The only time anyone takes on a Ron Burgundy “I’m kind of a big deal” attitude is when someone is quoting the movie.
(Below: At my desk in the weather office)

Quite often people will ask what’s the best place for a meteorologist to work? Is it San Diego (speaking of Ron Burgundy) where the weather is rarely exciting? Or is it Oklahoma City in the heart of Tornado Alley? People are sometimes shocked when I say Milwaukee is the best place for me to work. Why? You get to forecast and experience every kind of weather other than hurricanes (though we once nearly saw a preview on the Great Lakes, click here for that blog). Around here we have occasional severe weather to help keep our skills sharp. While the damage these storms bring is never a welcome sight it does help us refresh the public about how to prepare and stay safe. And unlike the center of Tornado Alley, we don’t spend every other night in spring watching severe storms rip through the viewing area until 3am. This past year our area was spared from the worst of Wisconsin’s severe weather (with one exception on Groundhog’s Day), but at the same time provided many events that meteorologists young and old could learn from.

So on this Thanksgiving I am grateful for so many reasons from the good fortune of steering my career back to my hometown, to the good coworkers waiting to welcome me, to a warm home with nearly ever box unpacked, to Aaron Rodgers single handedly carrying my fantasy football team, to my inability to know when to end a run-on sentence, and so much more. Of course not everything has worked out perfectly. There have been a few downs to go with the ups. But if I can have the same good fortune in the year ahead you won’t hear any complaints from me.