Oh, it's raining?

It's June 3rd and I've had enough. No, I'm not referring to this incredibly wet weather, but instead, the people who continue to complain about it. Guess what - we live in the Pacific Northwest. It rains here. A lot. Don't get me wrong. I'd love to have a sunny day once in a while. I just got back from Maui, so I'd be okay with a couple of months worth of sun. But, since I can't do anything about the weather, I'd rather direct my frustration toward things that I can control. To quote the first line of the AA prayer...

"God, Give us the grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed..."

Roughly translated for the purpose of this blog - "stop bitching about the rain, already." My college coach taught me something about playing in hot weather. She would tell us all that she knew it was hot, but the more we mention it to each other, the more we'd dwell on it, shifting focus and energy from the task at hand. The simple rule was that we didn't mention the hot weather...at all. Let's all adopt this method for dealing with the rain, shall we? I haven't taken an official poll, but I'm pretty sure that our rainy weather has been the hot topic of small-talk for the past month or so. I know that it's the most common topic of facebook statuses - and I should know, as much as I'm on that time-suck of a website. Rain? Really? You have nothing more interesting to talk about other than the fact that it's raining and you don't like it?

Okay, I can recall the days when I, too, loathed the rainy seasons of the Pacific Northwest.

When I played competitive softball, I remember absolutely hating the rain. It would destroy the fields, forcing us to play or practice on a sloppy bog of mud and diamond dry - a powdered, drying agent intended to dry out the wettest parts of the infield and batter's boxes. It didn't actually dry anything out. It just made the mud thicker and more disgusting. And, that was before the days of Oxi-Clean (R.I.P. Billy Mays), so any clothing that was lighter in color than jet-black ended up dingy, stained, and inappropriate for wearing in public. To this day, I cringe at the sight of diamond dry. Luckily, I've given up the sport completely, and there's no such thing as a "rain out" with outdoor soccer.

When I landed my first job in downtown Portland, I was a sales rep. I wasn't able to take the bus or MAX to the office. I had to drive. Anyone who has to take the freeway during rush hour knows what rain can do to a normally easy commute. Most people drive a little slower, which is a good thing. Those who don't slow down, or perpetually running late (like me), tend to speed and/or tailgate. You know where this is going. That jack-ass rear-ends another driver and any vehicles involved in the collision pull off to the side of the freeway. In the meantime, drivers going in either direction slow down to gawk. Feel free to add an extra 30-60 minutes to your commute time. And, feel free to give the finger to the guy (or gal) who caused the wreck as you pass. They'll be so preoccupied with exchanging information in the rain beside their wrecked car (while frantically calculating how much this is going to raise their insurance) that they probably won't even notice your gesture. And, by the time traffic crawls to the spot where the accident occurred, the heavy breathing caused by your rage of one careless-driving ass will have fogged up the window to the point that tailgating-Tommy probably won't even be able to see it. And, it will make you feel better to have someone to blame for your commute, which has turned from bad to worse.

When Taylor starts playing outdoor sports or when (if?) I return to the workforce, I'm sure my disdain for the rain will come "pouring" back. I feel for you people. I really, really do. But for now, I have officially run out of reasons to hate the rain. Today, I'm a stay-at-home mom who doesn't commute unless she has to. My hairstyle isn't affected by wet weather (hooray for the pony-tail) and the phrase "rain-out" is no longer in my vocabulary. I don't enjoy the rain, I simply tolerate it. I admit that I'm ready for the sun to come out for longer than 20 minutes, but I refuse to be that Debbie Downer who reminds everyone that it's June and it's still raining. If it's still raining by July, however, I'll jump on the bandwagon if there's still room. By then, it might be a giant ark.