Rainy days, not so "rainy"...

Where I grew up in the Midwest, when there was a beautiful day, you felt the overwhelming obligation to go OUT and take advantage of the weather.  You bolted out the door, never to return... well at least until your Mother called out the door that dinner was on the table.  These days were fairly few and far between, as it was either raining, snowing, 80 degrees below zero with the windchill, or boiling hot.  

But where I live now, it's beautiful all the time.  The concept of the weatherman, played by Steve Martin, pre-recording the weather in the movie 'LA Story' nails it, because it is ALWAYS 72 and sunny.  But that obligation factor still remains... consequently, every day, I still feel the need, when I wake up to get out and "Take advantage of the nice weather."  There is never that day when it rains, and you get to just sit inside and read a book... 

I went on vacation last year to the Pacific Northwest and when it rained for days, I relished the days with books and movies in a cabin in the woods with no near cell phone towers.  

Interestingly enough, my dear friend, we'll call her Tanti... feels as though this weather breeds a level of shallowness... which would explain the lack of depth in Californians... can't make plans, can't commit, can't have an opinion.  Her theory is that because we have such beautiful weather all the time, there are no days of struggling through the perils of bad weather, or alternatively, no days of staying stuck inside learning about each other or how to relate to each other, or connecting with each other.  

Just a thought for the day... It's enough we live these lives, behind our laptops and blackberries and iPhones...never really connecting with each other on a deep level... it's all about getting out in the sun... having fun... Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad thing... but where I live, I miss the times of sitting by the fire, playing card games, talking current events, family matters... and connecting and learning from one another...

So.... take a page from the Chicagoan, and take a friend to lunch and connect... really connect... xoxox.