I’m a Pluviophile

By Sondra Forsyth

A pluviophile, from the Latin words for rain and love, is someone who revels in rainy days. That describes me perfectly. I currently live on Totten Inlet of Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest where rain happens more often than not. As a writer, I savor the sound of rain on the windowpane when I sit at my desk looking out at majestic Douglas Firs and Big Leaf Maples. After the rain, I open the window or go outside so that I can inhale the intoxicating, lingering scent. Then at night, the rain lulls me into a deep and peaceful sleep.

Having spent decades in New York City, where rain was nothing but an inconvenience, my newfound appreciation for everything from drizzles to downpours is welcome indeed. Back in NYC, I used to agree with the 1971 song by the Carpenters entitled “Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down”. Now though, I not only love the rain, but Mondays don’t loom as the start of a workweek I’m dreading. My journalism work is remote and flexible. My other passion, teaching dance, often means needing to show up at the studio or theater for classes, rehearsals, and performances on weekends as well as weekdays. Monday is more likely to be welcome than not.

Still, I don’t want to sound pollyannaish. My life even now does, of course, have ups and downs. Yet I always keep in mind a quote by British writer Vivian Greene: “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain”.

And in case you need even more inspiration, watch the inimitable Gene Kelly singing and dancing in the rain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1ZYhVpdXbQ

Here’s to a life in which rainy days and Mondays no longer get me down!

Sondra Forsyth is a Co-Editor-in-Chief of thirdAGE.com and a faculty member at the Centralia Dance Academy in Washington State.