I wrote a column a few weeks ago, when it first looked like the rain was about to take over our lives for its traditional season, about how we should celebrate that.
It’s life, after all.
It’s what provides us with the beauty around us. It’s why we live here, when it comes right down to it, even if we curse it sometimes for hindering some activity or another.
I’m not going to re-write that whole column again this week, but I am going to touch on the subject again from a different angle, because even if you don’t agree that we should all be running around in the rain, singing and dancing and making merriment in recognition of its wondrous capacity to support life and carve our habitat into beautiful shapes (perhaps slightly exaggerating my previous points), maybe it’s nice to think about what the changing season means for us inside, as well.
Because as much as I like the rain, it can become a bit of…let’s call it an impediment?
A deterrent?
In any case, it makes you sometimes just downright dejected about your options for activities, doesn’t it? I’ve got it! It’s a disincentive.
It’s in those times that I like to try to think about the possibilities. Rather than imagining all the things it’s keeping you from being able to do (or making less pleasant to engage in), think about the things you might not get to do – or at least, wouldn’t have thought to do – if it was a bright, sunny day.
Maybe you haven’t built a fort in your living room for a while.
That’s right, I said that.
Whether you have kids or not (because that’s no excuse), think about the last time you built a fort in your living room.
You know what I’m talking about. You pull all the cushions off all the couches and chairs in your house, find some string, a couple of broomsticks, maybe, and a few sheets, and you make a real mess of your place as you attempt to create the most epic indoor structure you possibly can, for no reason at all.
Maybe you lay siege to it after its completed in an imaginary struggle of good versus evil. Maybe you get to be a wizard. Or a knight. Or a dragon! Maybe there’s an evil sorcerer who has a loved one under a spell and you need to rescue them! Or maybe you bring in a television and some popcorn in there and curl up for a sappy movie that always makes you cry.
Maybe you tell stories and share a few thoughtful moments with those you love.
Maybe you finally get to one of those books on your shelf you bought years ago, because you heard it was good.
Maybe you don’t have enough furniture, sheets and other makeshift building material to really make a go of this endeavour. In that case, what’s that one thing you’ve always wanted to do that you just haven’t gotten around to yet?
It’s a healthier option to look at the positives in life than the negatives. Like all the cool things you can do when it’s raining – other than being out in the rain.