Rain

Are we sick of the rain yet? I, for one, like rainy days - when I can stay home and observe them. I don't relish slopping around in puddles or driving in the traffic jams that rain seems to produce. Staying in on a rainy day is one of my favorite pastimes. I'll make a pot of soup and some home made bread, catch up on some reading, work on my quilt and maybe even take a little nap at 3:30. You can't get away with doing any of those things on a beautiful sunny day - unless you fake being sick. And you certainly can't enjoy a rainy day if you have young children at home. For you, being stuck in the house in the rain is a nightmare.

Although, when I think back, I did have fun on rainy days when the kids were young. I would throw a large sheet over the dining room table and make a fort. Sometimes we would have picnics on a beach blanket in the living room or watch movies with popcorn. And then there were the dioramas and play dough. When they got a little older I would teach them how to make meatballs or pizza dough on rainy days, among other things. That was all before video games and computers came out. Nowadays, the young kids splinter off alone in their bedrooms on rainy days. That could be a good thing too.

The world is so hectic today and there is so much worry and tension about the economy and world affairs that I feel like a rainy day is the excuse we all need to calm down, stay indoors and be still for awhile.

Here are two haiku poems that will help you pause for a moment and contemplate the beauty of rain.

Rain went sweeping on
in the twilight, spilling moons
on every grass blade
by Sho-u

Ho, for the May rains
when frogs swim in my open door
for a visit!
by Sanpu

Enjoy the rain...it should be around for a few more days!