Growing up as the Weatherman's kid

Before she was even born, Anderson’s upcoming arrival was televised.  Our pregnancy announcement was shared on social media and as a “picture of the day” segment. 

A day after she made her arrival into the world her beautiful little face filled up the screen as her birth announcement was part of the news.

When she turned one month old, Miss A made her first in-person appearance on the air when we made an impromptu visit to see Daddy at the station.

Her first birthday was celebrated with a special wish on air with the WAND cast, and just a few short months later she showed off her black cat costume on Halloween to the viewers.

In Anderson’s nearly two years of life she has made more television appearances while visiting her Dad at work then most people do in their lives.  On one hand that is pretty neat for her to have such unique and fun experiences as she grows up; however having a Dad as a weatherman is not always sunshine and blue sky's. 

Most nights Anderson and I spend a good portion of the evening alone.  I love my one-on-one time with my little lady, but a Chief Meteorologist's schedule is not ideal for family life.  When most people are getting off work to spend the evening with their family the Chief Meteorologist job is just beginning.  Anderson and I share dinner together alone most nights; however she does love to turn on the news to catch a glimpse of her Dad sharing the forecast.  She will smile and squeal "Dada" during the weather segment.

When severe weather hits, Miss A and I are on our own, again.  Growing up in the Midwest I'm used to our unusual weather, but on a few occasions it would have been nice to have some support dealing with scary weather, a toddler and a high-maintenance dog. 

 

Like any parent living in today’s world, we love to share pictures of Miss A.  With JC’s job he has many more “likes” than the average person does – over 16,000.  In general the comments on posted pictures are always very nice and supportive, but in the beginning there were a few nasty ones, which usually involved her unusual name.  Even though those comments were hurtful, we learned to brush off the negativity.

The "local celebrity" status really comes to play when we hit the grocery store.  Many people will recognize JC, comment on the weather and Miss A.  Their well-wishes and comments about our toddler are always nice.  JC works really hard to please his audience, and we rarely encounter rude people. 
 

As Anderson gets older and starts to notice the stares while we eat, the whispers of “that’s the weatherman” as people walk by, or even the pictures that are requested while grocery shopping, I hope she learns to adapt and accept the unique life we have.  I hope she appreciates the hard work her Dad does to be able to be as well-known and liked as he is.  It’s not always an easy life we lead, sometimes living under the microscope in public and surviving on our own during severe weather, but it’s normal for us and we wouldn’t change it.