I wonder how many hours of our life we spend wondering — and worrying — about the weather?
“It’s like rain on your wedding day” is a famous lyric from the 1996 hit song “Ironic” by Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette. Rain on your wedding day is not technically ironic; it is just bad luck. Or is it? The fact is that rain on a wedding day is supposed to be good luck. An old saying rooted in Hindu traditions suggests that a “wet knot” (referring to tying the knot) is very hard to untie, symbolizing a long-lasting marriage that can withstand any storm.
Speaking of withstanding storms, Mr. Wonderful and I had an absolute terror of a storm on our wedding day. There was a microburst so fierce it took out century-old trees on my grandmother’s farm. We’ve been happily married for three decades since. It’s too bad about the trees, but I will take any edge we were given with the rain.
GirlWonder and her handsome husband also had a real humdinger of a storm on THEIR wedding day. The power went out at the wedding venue. In the glow of the hushed banquet center with only the flicker of candles on tabletops, Mr. Wonderful and I smiled between ourselves and silently cheered. Great luck indeed!
I mention this because the weather, usually rainy, has been a topic of conversation for the last few months in our not-so-fair state. I spend a lot of time around rural folks who are working hard to make hay while the sun shines — the problem being that this year it rarely did shine for many days in a row. If and when it did shine it was somehow immediately 100 degrees, give or take. It seemed we were either wading around in the mud or living on the surface of the sun. There was seemingly no break between the two.
Hot.
The older I get, the more I simply cannot handle the heat. I spent most of the summer heatwave behaving like a long-suffering character in a Tennessee Williams play. I swooned around with my face pressed to the air conditioning units swearing I could not possibly survive another sweltering moment. When my silly teenage self said I wanted to be “hot when I grow up” this is NOT what I meant. If it was left to me to make hay in ANY kind of weather, suffice to say there would be no hay. All the livestock would have to learn to live off salads, or Twinkies, or something.
“What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps one in a continual state of inelegance” said Jane Austen.I mostly whined “it’s too HOT!” as I frumped around. I really should try harder. I really want to work “continual state of inelegance” into my vocabulary.
There were days when it was too hot to function, and then some that seemed to pour an endless sheet of water sluicing down from the sky. Everything was soggy.
I think it’s so easy to complain about the weather. If the weather is imperfect then surely it is ruining our days? On the chance that the weather IS perfect, there is a very good chance that the day is ruining our enjoyment of the weather. Isn’t that always the way? Gorgeous day that is 72 and sunny? You’re probably cooped up in an office somewhere.
Still, I think it’s important to remember to stop and smell the … raindrops? Or melting pavement, or whatever the weather may be serving up.
The other day I walked outside just as the sun had come up to take our sweet little dogs outside. As I sat on the porch I glanced to the right and was struck with how beautiful the view really was. A view, mind you, I have been looking at for thirty years. It was the fog rolling off with the sun just beginning to glow and it was glorious. As someone who cherishes farm fresh food, nature (from a distance), and lake life – it is wise that I remember that on even the most beautiful days a little rain must fall. See also: snow, sleet, hail, and yes, some wind (tornadoes need not apply).
This does not mean I won’t still complain about the weather when the mood strikes. I live in Ohio, it is our state’s pastime! I like to say that once the weather gets warmer/dryer/slightly more “perfect” I will be unstoppable. Unless, of course, it gets too warm, too dry, or too much and then I will be very much stoppable again.
