Day 6 of May-Hem: Rainy Days

How can it possibly be almost a week into the month of May already? Day 6 of May-Hem and I’m going to be writing about rainy days, as I look out of the window and see one in front of me (I also experienced it on the school run).

“All birds find shelter during a rain. But eagle avoids rain by flying above the clouds. Problems are common, but attitude makes the difference!!!” ― APJ Abdul Kalam

We live in a chalet bungalow meaning we have Velux windows upstairs. When it rains, it sounds as though the clouds are throwing the raindrops down onto our home in anger; it really is that loud. That being said, I do love lying there, listening to the rain pour, as long as I have no reason to go out in it.

A few years ago, we had been without rain for so long, and the weather was unbearably hot. Every day, I analysed the forecast on my ’phone, willing the heavens to open and nourish the earth below. My wish finally came true late one evening. I stepped outside and rejoiced at the feeling of the lukewarm droplets hitting my skin. With that, I vowed never to whinge about the weather again. Pah! When I was seriously ill, I promised myself that I would never moan about insignificant illnesses, like the common cold, ever again. Of course, the next time I got a cold, I still whined, just not quite as much. 

This week, the week of the first Bank Holiday in May, it has rained every day. Of course, it has! In fact, the forecast shows rain for the next ten days. Last year, when we were in the midst of the first lockdown, the fear, the panic, the depression, the weather was much better than it is this year. Reflecting on that, it’s a positive thing as I don’t think people would have coped quite so well had the clouds been so dark as well as thoughts. 

Weather certainly has the ability to change one’s mood, just as much as actions and thoughts do. But we have to allow it to do that for it to have the impact it often does. Perhaps, reframing rainy days could help to relieve emotional darkness, rather than wishing for the sky’s darkness to go away. Without those dark clouds, we wouldn’t have rainbows, an abundance of amazing crops of all colours, those luscious green pastures, the stunning countryside.

Growing up in Yorkshire, rain was a regular occurrence. Norfolk is a bit different, though. I remember in geography lessons as a child learning that it was the sunniest and driest county, but I’m not sure if that is still true. These past few weeks make it feel as though I might have been conned. Nevertheless, I intend to carry on smiling, happy in the knowledge that I am surrounded by beautiful things, none of which would survive without the rain.