A Rainy Day

I was scheduled to play tennis at 9:00 this morning. The alarm clock went off at 8:00 as planned. It was raining very hard, so I figured tennis was off. When I woke up at 9:30, it was still raining hard. By then, I knew there was to be no tennis. I was so glad for a day of sleeping in. A lazy day. On work days I get up at eight, get ready, and am to work be 9-ish. Often on the non-work days [Monday and Friday], there is something else happening, like tennis, which requires getting up. This is the first occasion in quite a while when I have been able to sleep until my heart desired.

I sat in the sun-room and slowly drank my coffee, watched the rain, listened to the wind, and just generally relished feeling lazy---something I so rarely engage in! I miss it when I don't get a chance to do that. But I also know that too much of this "laziness" quickly leads to boredom. I am still hoping for some perfect balance.

My Interim is winding down, and I'll soon be faced with lots of time on my hands to do whatever I wish. There are more and more activities and events slowly creeping onto the calendar, but I'm not sure that I can fill it to the right level, just yet. I don't even know what the "right level" would look like. Still, I hope to find it.

When I was a little girl, and even a youth growing up in the deep south, rain was warm. When it hit the pavement on a hot summer day, it made steam. You could walk in the rain, with it pouring down on you, and not be cold. I don't think that is possible up north. Cold rain on one's body would always be cold. I do love the memory of walking in the pouring rain, looking like a drenched rat, and being completely comfortable. feeling totally free. If I try really hard, I can almost smell it, too. Warm rain has a certain smell that is different. Or maybe that was just the aroma of southern vegetation taking a drink.

Perhaps the memory has such a warm feel about it because it was before adulthood, and all the cares that brings. Ah yes, I always loved rain, until that day when rain became a terrible flood. Come to think of it, I should even love that rain. It brought me Gerry! And a better life. Being totally comfortable. And truly free!