…by Julie Clark Robinson
“Let the rain kiss you.  Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.”
 -Langston Hughes

Yesterday, I was strangely excited. The sky stayed dark all day and my
battered wind chimes worked overtime. “Clang, clang….the weatherman
wants to tell you something…” I stopped working for a minute and let my
senses drink it in. “Clang, clang…get off your ass and turn on the TV”.
After months of frosty air, I cracked open my office window and felt
actual warmth seeping in. “Clang, thump! Rumble, rumble, rumble, thud.”
The trash can was rolling down the street, so I pulled myself out of my
giddy trance and went downstairs to investigate.

For the billionth time since the advent of Cable TV, I silently thanked
the powers that be for the wonder that is The Weather Channel. There\’s
no guesswork when the sky turns greenish black; just cold, pelting
facts. As it turned out, my trusty wind chimes were right — we had 40
mph gusts and a severe thunderstorm warning. This is the stuff that
excites me.

As it turned out, I didn\’t need to gather my loved ones and scurry down
to the basement with flashlights and bottled water. But, I did enjoy my
first thrill of spring.

My daughter has a shiny yellow slicker, matching knee-high rubber boots
(a.k.a. Christopher Robin) and a lady bug umbrella to arm her for
springtime in the Midwest. I have kitchen drawer full of batteries,
basic cable and an eye to the sky. I realize that most people dread the
soggy season that sits between winter\’s coziness and the freedom of
summer. But I don\’t like “dreading” anything. It\’s a waste of time and
energy. To me, excitement equals happiness and any change in the
weather is down right thrilling for me.

These days, my whole family enjoys Mother Nature\’s mood swings. The
rainy season means we get to jump over the worms on the driveway on the
way to the mailbox. I learned that my shine enhancing shampoo for
brunettes gets equally luminous results on the coat of a muddy black
lab. And, after a while, the constant thumping of wet sneakers in the
dryer is barely audible.

Today seems rather boring by comparison. It\’s not hot, not cold. No
sun, fog, cloud rotation or precipitation in any of its glorious forms.
If I were to venture outside, I wouldn\’t need any special kind of
equipment at all. What fun is that? I think I\’ll just curl up with The
Weather Channel and see what\’s brewing for the rest of the week.

Activity Exercise: The next time it rains, put on something
plastic and head out the door for a walk. (Check The Weather Channel
first, of course, to make sure that you won\’t be pelted with baseball
size hail. I said I like adventure, not pox marks.) Stick it out for a
while. Walk away any anxiety you may have about getting your hair wet,
or muddying your shoes. After a while, you\’ll realize that it\’s just
water and, even better…what\’s that strange feeling? Invigoration.

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