For work purposes, I first made my way to the United States on a short business trip in October 2007. I remember it vividly. I was not long married, and my boss was putting me on the long haul into Texas and Louisiana.

Fresh in my mind was the memory of the unusually warm day in Scotland the week before, right splat in the middle of October. Surprisingly, the temperature had risen to a heavenly 17° Celsius (or 70° Fahrenheit) on our wedding day. It was so bright and warm that our photographer convinced us to take our photos on the beach, where children ran up to the newly titled Mrs. N. with ice-cream cones in their hands. This was unusual for Scotland, where we’re doomed to a climate that changes for the worse every 20 minutes. My mother will reference this at times as “soup weather,” i.e., so cold and terrible, the only remedy is eating soup to keep warm.

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