“The best thing one can do
when it’s raining is to let it rain.”

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I love rainy days — not the annoying soft drizzle which sprays the earth with a fine mist, but a consistent, prolonged downpour which cleans the air, disinfects the trees, washes the pavement, and nourishes my soul. In recent years, such rain storms have been rare in California. Beginning today, and continuing for the next two weeks, the San Francisco Bay Area is expecting to get soaked. Given the drought conditions we’ve been under for the past several years, this is something for which to be grateful.

While I enjoy the rain, I prefer to experience it from the warmth and comfort of my home. Gazing out the window of my home office brings me tremendous solitude, especially on a day like today. The sound of rain tapping against the window is music to my ears. In some ways, it is similar to driving my car through the local car wash. I put the car in neutral, then just sit back and relax as the cleaning process plays out. Driving away in a clean car is always a refreshing experience for me. Rainy days can be like this, too.

I’m grateful to have nowhere to go today. In fact, there is nowhere I need to go for the next two weeks! I’m totally content to stay home and enjoy nature’s cleansing power. 

As the English writer, John Ruskin, so eloquently proclaimed, “There is no such thing as bad weather.”