Rainy Day Rest

This is what the weather looked like today at the resort where my daughter is working this winter. A blustery day!

Sometimes, it is a gift to have a major storm blow through on a weekend, especially if you can stay home and don’t have to be out in it. That was today for me.

There was wind, strong enough to blow the trashcan down the street and the last of the Japanese maple leaves to the ground. A few trees out the window still wear autumn colors, but those will be gone soon. In other words, it was a good day to stay inside.

The firewood stored by the woodstove was running low, and Biscuit needed a walk. We would have to venture out at some point. I asked my phone if there would be a better time to head out, since it was raining hard. It told me that it would stop raining between 11:00 and 1:00 pm. This apparently was an AI malfunction, because the rain never stopped, and the radar showed another mass of rainclouds heading our way.

It didn’t snow here, but it was close to blizzard conditions just a few miles up the hill. I am still without an AWD car. My nephew would have brought up the manual transmission, stick shift Subaru Forester that I wrote about in my last blog post, but since we only had rain here, we decided to wait. Nobody wants to be on the road in weather like this if it can be helped.

Here is the thing about driving in rainy/snowy/inclement weather: I am not a fan. Also, I am apparently one of the most cautious drivers on the road when rain is falling in buckets. I do not trust my car as much as other people evidently trust theirs. It’s been a great car (notwithstanding the new issue with the dreaded check engine light), but it’s old, and while the tires are good, it was raining hard and water was pooling on the road. Basically every other car on the freeway whipped past me, possibly going the same speed that they normally do in clear weather (at least that’s how it seemed). That didn’t feel safe to me.

While driving in the rain this week, I had a sudden realization. I’ve tried to ski over the years, but never liked it much. I always felt on the verge of losing control, which meant that I basically snowplowed as much as possible. I did everything I could to check my speed, to stay in control. Maybe people who love skiing don’t mind that out of control feeling? Or maybe they’ve done it long enough that they know their limits?

I think I drive like I downhill ski: I try to stay in control. I do the driving equivalent of snowplowing, which means I slow down, and when I slow down to what feels like a safe speed, cars pass me. On the slopes, I always felt a little embarrassed at my skiing speed. On the road, I don’t mind as much. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said, “Go ahead and pass me. I’ll see you at the next light.” All of us hopefully make it to where we are going safely. I might be a few minutes behind the speedsters, but my stress is surely less.

Thankfully, I did not have to drive anywhere today. It was a day to go out to rescue the trashcan that blew down the street, and to bring in more firewood, and to take the dog for a walk. But after that? It was an inside, daytime pajama day. It was a day to be thankful for the rain. It was a day of rest.