Psst. Ever since I was a kid I have loved the rain.
A little background before I go on about my love for the sweater weather, I live in a tropical country called Malaysia, and it is smack across the middle of the equator line on the globe. Hence it can get really hot and humid here, with temperatures going up to 33 degrees Celsius during the day with high humidity levels.
It’s hot.
The weather is erratic, one moment hot and sunny, and an hour later it could be pouring rain.
So having relief from the heat was one of the reasons I love the rain, be it a drizzle or a heavy downpour, it brought the temperature down.
After the rain, we get pretty little pools of mirrors on the ground outside, the ones which I had to remind my kids not to jump into.
On days when it thunders and rumbles outside, I feel safe in my home, protected and sheltered by a roof overhead.
If it rained during the day, I would take a moment to stare outside at the rain falling down from above, washing away the dust of the day.
The cool breeze would then float into our house and cool everything down, sometimes even my mood. I would open up the doors and windows slightly to let the wind in, just enough without getting our indoors drenched.
If it rained in the middle of the night I would stay awake and enjoy the sound of the pitter-patter of the rain on the roof and the grounds outside, and the sounds of flowing water in the drains, growing from a trickle to a torrent.
If my 2-year-old daughter, who I still co-sleep with, was awoken by the thunder, she would crawl over to me hastily and throw her arms around my neck, and drift back to sleep while I comforted her and stroked her head.
Over time I would allow myself to fall back asleep, into a sleep that was deeper than the one I had initially when I had gone to bed earlier that night.
Morning comes and as we step out to the world outside, now with a thin mist in the air over the roads, and a colder than usual morning would greet us.
I loved it.
I know not everybody enjoys the rain due to practical reasons, and in some cases here in my town we have occasional flash floods due to poor drainage. Not to forget, laundry, we dry our clothes under the sun around this part of the globe, so that would be a hassle. Also, it affects transportation for some, I empathized with those who were inconvenienced by the weather to get to places.
But other than that, I welcomed the rain and all the comfort it brings to me.
So instead of hoping for a sunny day, in my case here, I am hoping for a cold rainy day because in my books it isn’t the slightest bit gloomy at all.