Autumn has arrived here in Vancouver. Outside it is raining, that dreary chill, that thin soak which sits in the coastal air from now until next April. The rain will persist. The temperatures will fall. For one week, perhaps two, there might be snow here in the city, and will definitely be snow up in the valley, starting in Abbotsford and working its way up into the mountains. Yet the snow will pass quickly, floated away on the ever present rains that make the weather here a misery for half the year.
This is the price of the amazing spring and wonderful summer that they have here in Vancouver; the rain. It isn't constant; there a beautiful days here in both the fall and winter, days where the sun breaks through the clouds, where the air is crisp and clean, where the call of outdoor activity is irresistible. People golf here in December. I've been sailing as the New Year arrived. Runners run and walkers walk. This is a lovely place when the rain goes away.
Even this week's forecast has a break in it. The forecast calls for rain tomorrow, then a day of cloud, then rain for another four days. The long term forecast is for sun and cloud about a week away. But then again, most forecasters will tell you that forecasting that far out is really just a guess, so they guess for sun. It makes people happy to think that there might be sun out there somewhere.
I've seen weather in Vancouver. I've seen weather in Calgary. I've felt the warmth of the winter sun in the Middle East, along with its humidity. I've walked on the beach in Mexico while snows covered the ground at home. In all of these things, I have found both joy and disappointment. I've learned that it's not so much the weather as it is what you do with it. Some days are meant for being outside, for enjoying the smell and sound of nature. Some days are meant for snuggling up inside, staying warm and spending time to relax.
Today is a relax day, not because of the rain but because that is what I will do with this day. Every day we make that choice. Today I choose to take it easy.
I don't agree that rain is miserable. I like the rain in Vancouver. I long ago learned to live with it. I love the sound of it, the smell of it, the power of it. I run in the rain, play golf in the rain, sail in the rain. I used to race motorcycles in the rain, and I was a better rain racer than dry track racer, because I learned how to handle the rain. I too love the spring and summer here, but don't take the rain away please.
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