Don't Let The Rain Get You Down!

Rain, rain, rain, oh gee… another day of rain, and what does the forecast say about the next few days, in fact, for the rest of the week ahead of us?  You got it, more rain!  Makes you want to revert back to your early childhood days and shout aloud out the front door:

“Rain rain go away,
Come again another day.
Little Johnny wants to play;
Rain, rain, go to Spain,
Never show your face again!”

Okay, okay… so maybe you don’t want to pout and say the old nursery rhythm with me, but I bet that if you live where I live, that you’d be praying for some good old California sunshine too!  I guess that someone forgot to tell the weatherman that spring is just a couple of days away! (go back and read the 3/15/11 post).

So… what are we gonna do about the wet weather?  If we think back to yesterday’s post we would look to see what the old yellow lemon would do.  The one saying that I purposely left out, that would fit real fine today would say: “When life gives you a lemon, make lemonade!”  Ah! A  great piece of advice for us to follow.

Take a few moments today and consider all the good things about the rain.  There are the obvious factors like higher water levels for all our summer fun, personal needs and consumption.  Great looking lawns and flowers, and the added opportunities to get a little more wear out of all that rain gear you have!  Then there is the not so visible attributes of an abundance of stormy weather. Did you know that the "Rain, rain go away” poem is said to have it's origins during the reign of the English Tudor Monarch Queen Elizabeth I, who reigned from 1533 – 1603?

At that time in history there was a constant rivalry between England and Spain which culminated in the launching of the Spanish Armada in 1588.  The Armada was led by the Duke of Medina Sedonia, with a fleet numbering over 130 navel warships.  The English fleet, on the other hand, was under the command of Admiral Lord  Howard, and numbered only 34 small navel vessels accompanied by 163 armed merchant ships.  Despite its dominance, though, the great Spanish Armada was defeated, with only about 65 ships returning home.  The attempt failed, not only due to the swift nature of the smaller British ships, but also because of the relentless stormy weather which scattered the ships of the Spanish fleet!  The nursery rhythm is said to have been a product of this event!  (http://www.rhymes.org.uk/rain_rain_go_away.htm)

So, with that in mind, am I going to let the relentless rainfall defeat my pleasure this weekend?  Definitely not!  I plan on making the best out of this time and plan for activities that can be joyfully completed inside the warm confines of our home!  I even talked to my wife about playing a game of Monopoly this weekend!  (If you know me at all, you know that I usually can’t stand board games… but this weekend will be an exception!)  How about you?  Is there lemonade in your weekend plans?  Laugh in the face of anything that might try to discourage you and make plans to overcome whatever stands in your way!  Stay tuned, stay dry, and keep asking yourself… “What are you expecting today?”