Plot Monkeys

I have a love hate relationship with rain. The forecast this week is rain, rain and more rain. Now, believe me when I tell you that I know with every fiber of my being that this is better than snow. I’m not looking for sympathy. Just wanted to ruminate on this particular kind of rainy day.

In Florida, you can usually set your clock by our thunderstorms in summertime. I used to schedule my college classes so that I wasn’t moving between buildings or going to my car any time between three and five, when the deluge (replete with lightning and thunder…and my area is the lightning capital of North America) was at its worst. But these springtime showers are unpredictible and can last days.

One day, like yesterday, wasn’t bad. I had a lot of work to do when I’d much have preferred to spend the day in bed, but the gentle patter of the rain and the fact that my dog didn’t want to go outside and chase squirrels every five minutes really meant I accomplished quite a bit.

Can’t say I enjoy rainy day dismissal from school, though. I park pretty far away and the walk to school is a minefield of very deep puddles. The fact that my daughter has a rolling backpack that is currently making a valiant quest toward lasting to the end of the school year thanks to many strips of duct tape made going back to the car a rather interesting trek.

And let’s not even talk about what rain and humidity do to my hair. One of the moms asked afterschool why I had the hood up on my hoodie…it was a vain attempt at keeping my hair straight, although, since I knew this was futile, also kept everyone from seeing how my hair curls in about twelve different directions when not tamed by my straightening iron.

Tonight, I’m looking forward to curling into bed with a good book and reading to the sound of the gentle rain. No lightning, no thunder, just the rhythmic patter of water tickling the windows.

Since I’ve only had one day of non-stop percipitation, I can wax poetic. By this afternoon, I’ll be screaming for sunlight. I’ll be wondering aloud how people in Seattle and London can possibly deal with all the gray. I’ll be cursing the morons who seem to forget all the rules of common sense and traffic laws just because they have to use their windshield wipers. I’ll be searching the internet for a new sunlamp and perhaps pricing vacations to the Caribbean.

But for now, I’m just going to enjoy the rain.

How do you feel about the rain?

PS…pray for me. I’m chaperoning a 3rd grade field trip today, in the rain, on a bus, to the other side of town to see a 3-D movie about bugs. I’ll be back this afternoon to respond to comments…if I survived!