Seattle is know as a rainy city, but this is ridiculous. December 18, 2005 was the last day we didn't have rain. The day before was the last day I reached for my sunglasses. It has rained and rained and rained. The only day in January that it didn't rain (at least measurable at Sea-Tac airport) was January 24, 2006. I think that comes close to Noah's 40 days and 40 nights.
I have lived in the Seattle area for over 15 years now and even this stretch of wet and grayness has got me down. My kids are going crazy. They are driving me crazy. I usually don't mind the rain, but day after day, it is driving us all crazy! During a normal rainy year there are breaks in the rain and the kids can go outside and play.
Those that live in a different climate might not understand why the rain prohibits outdoor play. I remember talking to my brother who lived in Florida where it would pour every afternoon. When it rains and is 70 degrees outside, no big deal, especially if the sun was shining before the deluge and will be shining after the deluge. See, up here that ain't the case. It is a high of 40 today and the last day there was sunshine that peaked through the cloud cover was…..September? (Really it was back in December, and it is February.)
Sending kids out to play is next to impossible. First, the grass is so soggy you can not walk on the grass. You will not only ruin it, but it is impossible. You can't get any footing on it and if you are lucky to have moles, it isn't even and then….well….get the video camera because it is slide city. Come summer you don't want what little grass will grow to be ruined. (For though who haven't lived in the Pacific NorthWET, you must understand we don't grow grass, we plant it year after year after year, hoping to get rid of the moss that has overtaken our yards.)
Riding bikes is impossible because the roads are so ripped up from that one day of below freezing temperatures that the pot holes are big enough to swallow VW Bugs. (Our neighbor's use to have a red one, but I haven't seen it in days.)
If a child gets wet, unlike the summer where it is shorts and t-shirts, it is pants, long john, underwear, socks, shoes, coat, shirt, sweater and the list goes on, but it is a washer full and if you times that by six…..well you might get the picture. But worse is washing the mud from the inside of the tennies and then having them dry before you need them next (like in 10 minutes when you have to run out the door.) For those who think, "well why doesn't that mom put her kids in rain boots?" I would, but we can only find one right foot and one left foot and they aren't the same size.
By the way, have you ever smelt muddy, cold wet, kids? "Hit the showers," is what every mother says.
But here is the big rub; the sun only comes out (it is behind the clouds, but we know it is there, because the street lights just went off) from about 9 am to 3:30 pm. Makes it pretty hard to go out and play when daylight just ain't around.
So I sit here, typing this as the rain is pouring down from the heavens, waiting for the announcement that Noah has his boat finished. I just hope that he will punch my ticket and there is a place for me because I want out! There is water pouring over the foundation walls into my basement, a river (we have named it Blanding Brook) running through my back yard and my webbing between my toes is becoming permanent.
"Help, I'm drowning."
Doreen
PS. Yes, there is a difference between showers and rain. A shower is what you sing in and take in the morning (think warm and shampoo) and rain is what it does every day in the Seattle area from November to July 5th. Oh, and if you come visit Seattle, leave the "bumbershoot" (that's the word for umbrella) at home--you look like a tourist if you carry one of those--even in a down pour.