Storm Clouds

You know, I like storm clouds. Especially big, dark, grey, ominous ones. The bold grey that they are usually makes all the colors around them stand out so sharply. I remember being 12 and delivering papers on my paper route, trying to beat a storm. I was transfixed by the sight of two roofers (also trying to beat the storm) on a roof backed up against that grey. It was spectacular. The red of their shirts, the yellow of their hard hats and even the blue of their jeans stood out so crisply against the storm clouds. I remember thinking that I would love to have a dress that color and that I didn't know why designers hadn't snatched that color up already! It seemed to me that everyone would look good in that color.

I do not, however like the light, simpering grey of a day that is rainy when you wake up and likely to stay rainy until you go to bed at night. It is so depressing. The grey seems to invade all your personal space and seep into your bones, making you tired and cold and cranky. I once heard a children's story that described a rainy day as a "silver" day. I somehow think of it as like aluminum or maybe nickel. It really doesn't do anything for me.

My husband, who is Irish, likes days like this. He calls them "soft days". Probably because the ground gets so soft that you sink into it! No, actually, the Irish call them that because they aren't too hot and they aren't too cold. They are a soft and gentle day.

But, I don't know. I still prefer the sun to the rain, with occasional storm clouds to brighten up all the colors so I appreciate the colors around me even more. It's rather like life. Without those occasional troubled spots, you would not appreciate all the joy in life nearly as much. Maybe that's why I like to see a storm roll in.