What do you do
on a rainy day
There are many moods associated with rain. There is one that is connected to the comforting sound of rain on the roof, especially if it is a tin roof and you are snuggled in bed. There is one that comes from the watching rain as it begins to fall after days without. There is one that comes from the novelty of the afternoon stretching out before you, empty of tasks with nothing but a book in hand and a project idea wafting in your mind. For a moment it all feels good this idea of a rainy Sunday afternoon. It does tend to shift when the rain falls fast and heavy and then builds to a constant stream that is not normally known for this time of year. A months rain in a day. People prepare based on before but of course this is nature and she has no memory of what she did before, just a need to express herself. So she down pours elsewhere and different people feel the soggy discomfort of her actions. The talk of course is it is a weather event and that it is a one off but it is not. Just as the Northern hemisphere is too hot - we are too wet.
We last a day where after the dog walk everyone snuggles in and embraces the day. Day two the itch begins. “I want to go out”says one dog and so the door is opened and they promptly stand there. I give a gentle tap on the bum to encourage movement, which is greeted with a swift zip out, a pee and return. Five minutes later as if this whole episode is forgotten the ‘I want to go out’ bark is heard. It is ignored. The bark is repeated until I finally give in and open the door, informing my insistent barker that nothing has changed since they were last out. It is still wet. After this socks which I am attempting dry on the towel rail are stolen. With all this nonsense even I feel the itch. I’ve been staring at a computer screen too long and feel overheated and hot. I too want to feel fresh air on my skin but just like me four legged family member once the door is open the desire to be outside firmly departs.
It then starts to feel like time wasted. I want to cut back the hydrangeas- their flower heads have moved on from the delicate lace dried look to simple dead. The super wet soil might mean that I can make my yearly attempt to dig out the stubborn dock plants that have self seeded in the garden. I want to have a chat to the rununculus who most definitely are not happy with the weather and advise that it will get warmer and sunnier and to stick in there and don’t die on me. I want to move on to mythical sunny days of spring. Instead I make lists in my head that I will no doubt forget when the sun does finally return. Instead I make another cup of tea and reach for my excellent book that saw me reading past my bed time the night before and settle in to listen to the rain on the roof. And then before I can turn a page, there is a bark…..”I want to go out”.