No One Will Enjoy Themselves

“It will be rainy and no one will enjoy themselves if they’re outside,” said a weather service meteorologist according to The Seattle Times Oct. 6 2007 newspaper article. To the right of this article was a colorful picture of a UW professor photographing the beautiful changing colors at the Washington Park Arboretum.

Perhaps the weatherman grew up in Phoenix AZ. Maybe he is new to the Northwest. He could simply have a natural dislike for clouds and rain. Or perhaps he was misquoted.

But I tend to believe he expresses an attitude prevalent in our casual American thinking. We look at weather as something we can and should control...something that should suit us. We are entitled to “good” weather. And we find reason to be gloomy and moody if the weather disappoints us. The TV and radio weather person often encourages us with quick sound bites during storms, “We will be right here for you throughout the day….” Or on any particular day, “We will try to have a ‘nice’ day (whatever that is) for you tomorrow.” They seem to pose as kings and queens of weather, wanting us to applaud them if they “give us” whatever we consider to be “nice.”

My attitude toward weather was formed in Michigan where I grew up with four seasons. I remember my third grade teacher helping us to notice the onset of spring. We each made multi-colored construction paper calendars. I came to school excited to draw a stick figure red-breasted robin on my March month when he appeared in our backyard for the first time. The fuzzy top of a pussy willow graced my calendar another day. It was a joy to fill the squares with all the harbingers of spring.

Fall would bring the crunch of brown, red and yellow leaves under our new school shoes. And in the afternoons it was fun to jump into piles of raked leaves. Later we could smell the pungent odor of leaves being burned in little piles along the street or in incinerators.

In the winter we played fox and the geese in the snow during recess. Even now I can remember the damp smell of mittens and snow pants lying near or on the radiator at school, drying as we returned to our studies. After school we would build snow forts, have snow ball fights, and build snowmen. Sometimes there would be a hard freeze after a big snow and we kids would walk along the top of the snow crust and see who could take the most steps without breaking through. That was one game I could win because I was the youngest and lightest in my family.

Summer brought lazy days lying on our backs in the grass looking at cloud shapes where I was sure I was looking right up a staircase into God’s house. Or we would sit in a clover field looking for a four-leaf, which we were sure would bring us “good luck.” We drank lemonade to cool us on hot afternoons and in the early evening we would play statue on the front lawn.

Although the seasons are more muted here in the Puget Sound, I still find them. And it still thrills me to be surprised by what a season may bring. My brother in Texas loves to tease me about our many names for rain here. He is right. But we learn the subtleties of our vocabulary: rain, showers, sunbreaks, sunny, party cloudy, cloudy-- all have different meanings for us.

Then of course, there is the beauty of the repeated seasonal patterns. We know that fall brings damp earthy odors, colorful falling leaves, and crisp cool air, gentle rains that yield our emerald greens of spring. We know that winter days are shorter and send us early each evening toward our fireplaces for warmth and hot tea or cocoa. We might even have enough snow to build a snowman.

With spring, most Puget Sounders come scurrying out of their houses like bugs out of a crevice. The streets are peopled with kids bouncing balls, riding bikes or skating. Adults are everywhere digging, raking, planting, and visiting with neighbors. Birds return to our feeders and fill the air with their songs. Summer means less rain, more sunbreaks, BBQ smells filling the air, and long evenings with friends. Those with boats take them out and some of us enjoy trips to the lake, beaches or mountains.

Naturally, most people have a favorite season. My husband loves the rich green growth of spring and the longer days of summer. My close friend, Idy, loves the sun as much as I love the clouds and rain. She says it is because I was cloud deprived during my years living in Southern California. It is a playful difference between us.

I am not ignoring the reality of storms, floods and unbearably hot or cold weather. Nor am I championing rain so much as I am expressing our need for a life attitude of rejoicing in the good that comes to us in a variety of forms. Yesterday my husband and I put down the newspaper as we finished our morning coffee and headed out the door for our morning walk. We took the writer’s words as a challenge. “No one will enjoy themselves?”

We were enlivened by the crisp, clean morning air and dazzled by the golden trees gracing our neighborhood. (See his photos above.) We even noticed a hint of blue behind dark clouds. Leaves were decorated with drops of water. It did not rain on our walk but I was hoping it might—just enough to produce a rainbow to rival the one we saw the previous morning, making a complete arc across the sky. My husband, camera in hand captured nature’s details as he has for over 40 years. I, instead, merely experienced the beauties about me, knowing that his artistic eye would find and record beauties I might miss.

Someone enjoyed the morning outside today. We did!

If we continually see weather as something to suit our whims, we will continually be disappointed. But if we approach the day with openness to its surprises we will find beauties in each season.

I believe this to be a model for experiencing the simple joys of life. Of course there are many things we must try to change in our lives and our communities. But there is much of life we cannot or should not control.

At every stage of life there is reward in opening our hearts to receive surprises given us by our Creator and Lord. Let’s go out into life and enjoy the day!