It rains a lot here. Of course, that’s to be expected being nestled in a temperate rain forest along the edge of the ocean. The trees are dense and towering, green blankets cover the landscape, complimenting the water that seems to be spilling over the edges. I once thought I knew what rain was; that was before moving to Southeast Alaska. The internet told us it rained a lot, and so a raincoat, or what I thought was a raincoat, and an umbrella were stashed in the car. These proved to be of little use as we adjusted to the damp days.
I’ve always loved the rain, marveled at the lightening that so often accompanied the droplets. There’s something magical about a good thunderstorm, something wild, something untamed. The world is still, just the droplets beating against the planet. Darkness prevails as lights are extinguished, broken by the occasional flash of lightening lighting up the sky, and the roll of thunder lagging behind. And then, the lights would suddenly come back on, the clouds would part, and the sun would rise in the morning, splashing dazzling colors across the mountains.
Upon our arrival here though, the true nature of the rain remained unknown. Even now it is not the volume of the water that is fascinating, oh no, it’s the sheer persistence of those little droplets. The rain dances in a seemingly endless drip from the sky, occasionally backing off into a mist or releasing into a full-on downpour before slipping back into the slow, steady drip. drop. drip. Every once and awhile there is an interlude where the sun shines, revealing the full beauty of this soggy wonderland. Most mornings the clouds remain, sometimes concealing the sky for weeks at a time. Since moving here, we have only once seen lightning and heard the crash of thunder twice; during the same storm. It’s a strange place where one is more likely here to hear the crashing of a whale breaching than that of thunder. It’s curious how different the rain can be, how a place can see such little of the sun. Stranger still that the power is more likely to be extinguished from a bald eagle than lightning strike, though this is also is not a common occurrence. Strange and soggy. That more or less sums up life here.
In order to survive in such a place, one must embrace the rain. They say there is no bad weather, only bad gear. I do my best to embrace this, especially during the long periods of rain. Summers are easy enough to pull on your rubber boots, zip up your raincoat and go outside. The wonderful thing is because there are virtually no thunderstorms, you can take full advantage off the long daylight hours, even if the sun is veiled in a thick layer of clouds. With the right gear this weather is just fine for berry picking, short walks, or even softball. We once picked the most delicious blueberries in an intense downpour. It was a light drizzle when we set out; by the end of the excursion we had tubs full of blueberries and boots full of water. Rain paints would have been a good call, but hey, it was warm enough and close enough to home we just embraced it. As the rain continued its onslaught the berries soaked as the pie crust was mixed, then carefully rolled out. Heaped with whipped cream, the warm, fresh blueberry pie was the perfect rainy day treat. Then again, the last two summers these days have been rare; you’d never have known this was a temperate rainforest with all the sun. The rain will return though, as it always does, giving the soil some much needed moisture after the drought.
Even though the sun has been shining for the past week, these times have been rainy and as much as I hate to admit it, I’ve let the rain dampen a few days. During this storm I’ve been hard on myself over not being as productive as I think I should have been and have resisted the rain more often than I have embraced it. Still, I am practicing embracing the rain, embracing the ebb and flow of life. Sometimes it means it means putting on rubber boots and a rain jacket for a rainy adventure, and other days it means enjoying stillness. For me it means letting myself enjoy whatever I feel drawn to and surrender some of my expectations around productivity. While I love a good rainy adventure, I’ve also really enjoyed the slower pace of rainy days.
Besides, the beautiful thing about the rain is the dazzling number of rainbows so often adorning the landscape, and the rainbow always comes after the storm. This is what I tell myself when life gets rough and there’s no way to go but through it except to keep chasing rainbows. Sometimes the storms or short, others they seem to rage for months. Eventually though the storm fades and the rainbow emerges.
Ways to Embrace the Rain
Besides the obvious one of painting, a few of my favorite rainy day activities are:
- Curling up with a hot cup of tea and listening to an audio book
- A leisurely walk in the woods and listening to the rain
- Enjoying coffee and working on a coloring book
- Scrapbooking
- Board games/Video games
What are some of your favorite ways to embrace the rain?