Rain, Rain, Go Play!

A Little Wet

O.k. so I live in the Pacific Northwest about an hour or so away from Seattle. Most people who live here or people who have lived here or even people who are thinking about living here will all mention one thing…rain. This is not my first experience of the Pacific Northwest. I lived in Portland for about 6 months in my early twenties and just three years ago I lived in Lake Stevens, WA. The last time we were here I was so sick of the rain and gray and gloom that I was ready to move anywhere that had a different climate. Where did I move? Mesa, AZ. Yes, that’s right, I got to experience the opposite of extremes. When we decided to move back to the Pacific Northwest one of the first things I decided to do was change my relationship with the rainy, gray, cold winters.

A Shift in Perspective

I was walking with my kids in the rain last week. They love the rain. My three-year old daughter takes her hat down, tilts her head back and collects water droplets on her tongue. She delights in the rain and hits every mud puddle she can find. Returning to the house soaked through, she gleefully tears off every shred of clothing and sits down on the ottoman to warm herself near the fireplace. I’ve never seen a bigger smile. She loves the rain. I’ve decided to take my daughter’s lead (not the shedding of every article of clothing although my husband says he wouldn’t mind but the glee with which she approaches rainy days) and rainy days are now excuses to play. We all get out our umbrellas and walk a path in which we’re sure to find lots of splashing opportunities and everyone is soaked with rain and mud when we’re done. For a wonderful musical version of this experience check out Christine Kane’s song Everything Green from her CD Rain & Mud & Wild & Green

So Much Available

One day it was raining so hard on my umbrella that I thought there must be more drops coming down from the sky than there are stars. The abundance that the universe offers all around us is astounding and I was reminded that there is no lack in a rain storm. Nature springs forth…showering us with treasure with no thoughts about too much or not enough. It reminds me to spring forth into my day, to hold nothing back and share with all I can my own version of raindrops.