it's just those rainy days...

Miss sunshine didn’t kiss me good morning today…she didn’t force me out of bed with her warm beams habitually poking my eyes wide open, as if telling me to get my sorry ass out of bed or else I was gonna be late for work again. Instead, I was roused by the chilly air liberally breezing through the open windows of my room. It’s a rainy Thursday afternoon and I didn’t have to go anywhere but in bed, buried underneath the warm blanket, as the scent of champorado and tuyo reeks from our kitchen.

When I was young, a string of rainy days was not what I would consider a ‘bad weather’ as Ernie Baron, or some other local weatherman would say on TV. For me it was the best weather because it entails the suspension of classes and a street party.

I would always beg my mother to let me bathe in the rain with my friends. After some minutes of convincing (and screaming and crying), she would allow me, by then defeated (most probably annoyed). Agog, I would run outside as fast as a lightning bolt, wearing only my undies (it wasn't kinky then). We ran wildly on the streets and played games until the rain stopped pouring. I didn't know why but it seemed that the rain had a funny effect on me. It's as if all my apprehensions and fears were washed away, leaving me with a renewed sense of spirit. I would always consider it a special day when it rains.

As I grew up, there were no more dancing or singing in the rain and no more begging sessions with mom. Maybe I grew out of it. The rain, the storms, and the wind blowing on an overcast day were not so special anymore… Rainy days are just like the other days, or even worst especially when u think about the horrors of commuting. It was nothing more than a bad weather. Ernie was right all along.

Or maybe that’s just how things change when you grow up. It’s hard to be at the mercy of something so powerful, something inevitable, something larger than yourself… like a bad weather. Maybe there is more to rain than the cold water pouring endlessly upon the earth… and maybe it’s good to keep that childlike faith once in a while.

"It's just those rainy days
Spend a lifetime tryin' to wash away
Until the sun comes out and shines again
Smile for me, smile for me "
- mary j blige