What are your favorite things to do on a rainy Saturday?
It’s not a top ten list, but here are 5 things I did today.
Wake up slowly to the music of raindrops dancing on the roof. Snuggle back under the covers, letting the rhythm sing me back to sleep for another half hour or so.
Hang out in jammies while catching up on a few shows that have been building up in the DVR (yes, we still have a DVR) while drinking a delicious Geoff-made chai tea latte.
Read (from two novels) during the day without feeling guilty that I should be catching up on work that is still lingering. Okay–make that without too much guilt–there is always lingering work!
Pull on a raincoat and take a walk between the raindrops. Step carefully over the snails that have arrived for the rainy day snail convention and be sure to notice the raindrops hanging like jewels from the bird of paradise.
Curl up in the cozy chair, cover up with a comfy throw blanket, open up the laptop and leisurely catch up on some of that lingering work…on my own terms.
It never rains in Southern California… So the song says. And for many years in the last decade that has been true. But in the last couple of years, rain has become a regular feature of winter weather. I’m quick to acknowledge that we need the rain (and that a lot of rain may seem like a small amount to others given that average rainfall for San Diego is under ten inches per year).
And to top things off, the rain seems so unpredictable lately. Yesterday, for example dawned sunny and bright. The day was beautiful and warm, but weather forecasters promised rain by afternoon commute time. And they were right. It actually rained on me during my after work walk…pretty much on schedule. We had rain all evening and some overnight. But the rain stopped by the time my alarm rang, and the day was supposed to be dry.
So, given that forecast, I didn’t dress for rain. I even looked at my umbrella (I had taken it on Saturday to our conference) and told my husband that I wouldn’t need it and then headed out for the university. As I pulled off the freeway to make my way to the parking structure I spied a rainbow…and a very dark cloud. Raindrops began to splatter on my windshield. Oh no, I thought, my umbrella is sitting at home. And the walk from the parking structure to the office is not a short one.
I pulled into the covered parking structure and remembered the conversation my husband and i had last weekend. He was telling me there was an umbrella in my car. Really? I asked. I sure didn’t know about any umbrella in my car. It’s way in the back, in that supply bag I keep in there, he explains.
I’m feeling hopeful as I zip up my jacket, pull my backpack onto my shoulders, and open the back hatch of my car. Sure enough, a small green umbrella is tucked in with the roll of toilet paper, a roll of paper towels, and some other odds and ends.
Today it was a lucky green umbrella, keeping me and my stuff dry as I walked from the parking structure to the office with raindrops tapping a rhythm on the umbrella above my head.
A student with an umbrella walking ahead of me this morning!
My alarm rang early on a Saturday. Today was our San Diego Area Writing Project Spring Conference! Before I got out of my cozy, warm bed I checked the weather app on my phone. Drizzle. Drizzle is not really rain, right? I decided against dressing for rain and opted for my Vans tennies and some black almost dressy pants to go with my cute sweater top. (I would have to open the conference, but I also had to walk a good bit to get from the parking structure to the conference venue on the UCSD campus.
About 5 minutes before I was planning to head out, I looked out the door and changed my mind. That was NOT drizzle–even by Southern CA standards, that is called rain! I rushed back to my bedroom, kicked off the Vans, changed into jeans with skinny legs so that I could pull on my cowboy boots–the dressier footwear option for rainy conditions–and then headed out the door wearing my raincoat with my umbrella in my bag.
With windshield wipers on high, I braved the slick freeway and low visibility, and as I approached the university, the weather began to clear. The ground was wet and puddly as I walked from the parking garage, but the sky had cleared a bit and it wasn’t even drizzling.
It’s hard to get up on a rainy Saturday morning to attend professional development–even when it is self-selected. But I knew once I arrived that the energy of the participants and presenters would carry me through. And I was right. Our morning keynote by our own Christine Kane focused on the value of conversation, how the best conversations reveal things about ourselves both to those we are conversing with and to ourselves as well. She referenced David Brook’s newest book, How to Know a Person, and shared some of his advice about being a “loud listener.” She also reminded us of the Chinese symbol for listening which includes the eyes (to see), the ears (to hear), the mind (to think), undivided attention (to focus), and the heart (to feel).
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What a perfect set up for being conference participants! The three sessions I attended were excellent! Even with 35 years of teaching under my belt, I felt inspired and motivated by gems of wisdom and practice shared by the presenters. I enjoyed my interactions with fellow participants and left the conferences knowing it was a morning well spent.
My drive back home included one surprise rain shower along the way, but as I headed off the freeway toward my house, the sky was bluing and the sun was shining. As I stepped out of my car into the driveway I was greeted by tiny yellow suns sprouting right out of the driveway cracks. Dandelions! I couldn’t resist kneeling down to capture their light and glow. Nothing like a bit of sunshine on a rainy day!
It’s been raining again. I know, I should be appreciating this liquid abundance that is replenishing local water supplies, nourishing drought-starved plants, and creating conditions that will ease the water restrictions we have learned to live with. But enough already!
So…when it has rained all day–again–it’s a perfect day for comfort food. And in this household, that often means breakfast for dinner. Somedays breakfast for dinner means breakfast burritos filled with eggs and avocado and bacon. Other days it is french toast dunked into an egg mixture and cooked until it is golden brown. Tonight it is pancakes.
If you know me, you know I don’t cook. Somehow all those years ago when I met my husband-to-be over green beer (you can read our tiny green love story here), I lucked into marrying a man who cooks–every single day! So as dinner time approaches each evening, he serves up love in the form of a meal. He makes it look easy as delicious aromas begin to waft through the house. “I’m whipping up a compote for the pancakes,” he says as I peek into the kitchen. He knows that maple syrup is not my go-to pancake topping, so he gathers this and that from the fridge to make something he knows I will love.
The (decaf) coffee is gurgling, there’s bacon in the microwave, and pancakes are almost ready. There’s something warm and cozy and comforting about pancakes for dinner on a rainy day. Almost makes another rainy day worth it!
I’ll admit it. I’m done with rain. As I may have mentioned (aka complained) before, we’ve nearly reached our annual rainfall total in the first three months of the year (I think the storm this week–some today and more forecasted for tomorrow and Wednesday–will take us over that total). As a classroom teacher, rain tends to make me grumpy. All the wet stuff, the missed recesses, the eating in the classroom, the pent up energy…ugh.
But, instead of complaining, I’m going to switch it up on myself and find some reasons to love rain–even in the classroom!
Here I go…
Super bloom! Our local plants are loving this water and we are already seeing hints of the bloom to come. It won’t be long until cactus as in full flower, trees are already dressing in their best green leaves, and the ever invasive black mustard is showing off its showy yellow best (and getting taller by the minute).
Music to my ears. The drip drop of rain is wonderfully soothing if you take the time to listen. Just last week, my students and I took a few minutes to soak in the sounds. Those few minutes of the rhythm of the rain were priceless.
No need to wash the car. With the regularly occurring rainstorms, my car is staying pretty much dust-free. A few swipes of the windshield wiper and the windows are clear. This is probably the cleanest my car has been in years!
Makes Elaine Maglioaro’s Things to do if you are Rain incredible relevant–and perfect to study tomorrow. What better activity to do when it is raining than read a poem about rain?
Quiet time with kids as they trickle in before school. Instead of playing on the playground and lining up for me to pick them up, on rainy days the kids trickle in a few at a time. I feel like I get a chance to check in with kids when things are quiet, a softer more mellow start to the day than is typical. I love the informality of it.
Raincoats and rain boots get some use! I bought a pair of colorful, fun rain boots a few years back–and wore them at most a couple of times before this year. This year, my rain boots and my cowboy boots are both getting some love. Same for my raincoats!
Drought relief. After all the misery that accompanies extreme drought, it’s nice to get a bit of relief. While we are certainly not out of the woods when it comes to adequate rainfall and enough water to meet the demands of our region, it is nice to see our state drought map begin to ease and reservoirs begins to fill. Hopefully this will also decrease some of the wild fire danger this year.
It’s cozy. Even though my ideal rainy day would be spent curled up in my own home with the fireplace blazing, a cup of tea at my elbow and a good book in hand, I do like the coziness of rain at school too. It’s fun to experience rain through the eyes of children–their pure joy at the wonders of nature as we all hunker down, enjoying the indoors is nice (on a limited basis–of course).
No recess duty. Tuesday is my day for recess duty–both before school and during our afternoon recess. But if it really rains as predicted, I will have a duty-free day. Of course, I will have my own students during those times but an occasional break from recess duty is always welcome. And it’s always great to not have to go outside and watch kids when it’s cold and windy (as tomorrow is promising, along with the rain).
Opportunities for new and different photos. A change in the weather means new opportunities for photography. What will I notice on the rain slicked streets? Where will rain drops stage themselves? What new beauty will reveal itself?
Reflection in a puddle on the playground
Hopefully I will be loving the rain tomorrow instead of griping about it. All my grumps will be put away for a while as I remind myself of all the reasons to love rain.
Rainy days…for the last two years they have been few and far between. We had around 4 inches of total rainfall followed by 6 inches. This year we are already at nearly 10 inches (our seasonal average before the drought parched the state), and it’s early in the rainfall season.
I appreciate the need for rainfall, but as a teacher, I don’t love a rainy school day. Our school is ill prepared for rain. There are no pathways from the classroom to anywhere else on campus (including the bathrooms and the lunch serving area) that are totally covered. You WILL get wet if rain is falling. And since students eat outdoors (we have picnic tables under an awning), when it rains, it means they eat in our classrooms.
California has been plagued (blessed?) with lots of atmospheric rivers this season, bringing A LOT of rain. And I know I shouldn’t be complaining–we are getting rain AND we haven’t had the kind of devastation that other areas have been experiencing.
But as the rain drip dropped this morning I tried to make the best of things. Since students arrived directly to classrooms, I got those last few kiddos’ assessments completed while things were still quiet. When I learned that two of our reading teachers were out today (I knew about one yesterday–got the call about the other experiencing flooding in her home this morning, yucky for her!), I figured I could get some one-on-one reading time squeezed in. Drip by drop, I ended up reading with 20 of my 22 students today!
And the good news?!? The rain is done for now, we are looking at clear skies until the middle of next week. Hopefully we can dry out, get outside (for eating and for exercise), and return to a more typical schedule.
While the persistent drought we’ve been experiencing isn’t over, this over the top rainfall is helping to alleviate some of the pressure. And the plants are loving it, lapping up each drip and drop.
I like the way the syllable count forces language, creates opportunity for new thinking. Today’s prompt from Ethical ELA asked writers to come up with a line of a poem and continue with poem using the same number of syllables in each line. As I walked the beach this morning, I kept thinking about the monsoonal moisture promised by the weather forecasters–and the fact that I know it won’t result in the rain we need so much. I found myself obsessed with rain as I walked, counting syllables in my head. Here’s the resulting draft and the beautiful sky last night that fueled today’s obsessive thinking.
Some days are the perfect convergence of conditions–that can either make or break your day.
Mondays can be challenging. Coming off the weekend students are unsettled–some tired, some amped, some seemingly have forgotten what this whole school thing is all about. And somehow, I always start parent conference week with an early morning conference. Today was no different.
I like morning parent conferences. They feel almost leisurely in the quiet of the morning before the stresses of the day emerge. But…today I had to rearrange my lesson plans since someone would come in to teach my class while I attended an IEP meeting. And…I didn’t know who it would be until I was already teaching this morning.
Then there’s the forecast. Last week we had summer mid-week, with coastal temperatures in the 80s. Today’s weather called for wind and rain…maybe even thunder and lightening. Any weather in these parts is an event–and my rain boot, umbrella toting students came to school ready for it! (What is it about wind and the prospect of rain that causes students to lose their minds? They were definitely stirred up today!)
No breaks later, it hadn’t rained. I wrangled the students back into learning mode as we explored some poetry (reading and writing) and did some drawing (tulips) that we will paint tomorrow. A minimum day dismissal arrived before the rain–so all those boots and umbrellas were not needed at school today.
But the rain did come, wafting in sheets during one of my conferences. We could hear the wind and see the sheets of water through the windows as we chatted about progress and appreciated the child’s unique qualities. And I was thankful for a rain-free teaching day since cooped-up kids are not my favorite start to the week.
You can see the rain pouring out the drains after the downpour.
Once my conferences were done for the day, the sun came out and I couldn’t resist a bit of photography outside the classroom, trying to catch the sunlight on the damp flowers that were clearly enjoying some rainfall in this usually dry climate.
While there is still some more rain in the forecast for the evening, it held off long enough for a neighborhood walk once I got home this afternoon. The snails were out everywhere creating their own kind of obstacle course (how I hate that crunch when I accidentally step on one!) as I made my way up and down the sidewalks.
End result? This rainy day and Monday converged in a way I can claim as a good day. It was busy and hectic as all parent conference week days are, but the rain made its appearances at times when I could appreciate it rather than curse it. All in all, a pretty darn good rainy day and Monday!
Where I live weather casters have to work at nuance. So many days are mostly sunny, sometimes accompanied by night and morning low clouds. And this year, like so many years, we are in a drought, inches away from our whopping average rainfall of 10 inches per year.
When I hear a forecast for rain, skepticism is my first reaction. It isn’t uncommon for for a rainy day prediction to fizzle and disappear, replaced by that that little sunshine icon. And this morning, the sun rose like clockwork, making me doubt the rain I heard about…and even planned for today.
Today was my vaccination day (yay!), so I was careful to dress in short sleeves to make the process easier. But, it was also supposed to rain, so I layered on a sweatshirt and remembered to grab my raincoat as I dashed out the door for work. To the east some patches of stringy clouds were visible–they didn’t look rain bearing to me. When I turned west, I could see the rainclouds gathering along the coast.
After my Zoom meeting with my class, I grabbed that raincoat again and headed off to our local fairgrounds-turned-vaccination-supercenter. I wasn’t sure how the whole thing would work, would I need to walk up and stand in line? Would they tell me they had run out of doses just as I arrived at the front even though I had an appointment? Would I end up standing in the rain?
None of my worst fears came true. I drove into the orange cone maze and made my way around and into the big barn where I’ve looked at livestock during the county fair. My credentials were checked, my arm offered, and my first dose was injected without me ever leaving my car. I proceeded to the waiting area for 15 minutes, and water drops began to fall on my windshield.
Back in my classroom, the rhythms of rain were the soundtrack for today’s planning and preparation. Light drops punctuated with heavier showers. I could see the trees swaying, dancing in time to the rain, through the classroom windows.
When I got home I realized I hadn’t taken a photo today. I grabbed my umbrella (the rain was heavier by then) and wandered around the backyard, looking for a shot that would express the feeling of rain. I remembered how hard it is to capture rain in a photo (something I don’t get to practice too often). I tried to avoid the big pools on the patio and the muddy spots beyond as I explored, noticing how the plants seemed to be reaching out and welcoming the rare sky drops.
Today was a perfect rainy day. I’m ready for sun tomorrow.
Will it ever stop raining? We have gone from impending drought here in Southern California to several inches over our rainfall average for the year. Today alone we may have gotten more rain than we often get in months!
The downside of the nonstop rain is that feeling of being cooped up in the house. We’ve had no real breaks in the rain today…so I finally decided I would walk, rain or not. I got into my raincoat, grabbed my (mostly neglected) umbrella and headed out. The skies opened up about halfway through my walk. I pulled up my hood and popped the umbrella and forged forward. The walk was just what I need…
Thinking Through My Lens 