On to the post...
As writers, I think we experience life on a different level than most people--except for someone experiencing it for the first time--because we are always looking for new ways to relate things back to our readers. I have always been a people watcher, but it wasn’t until I started writing that I took things away from watching people and tried to understand the things I saw.  |
| Nathan Henry 3.5yo- 12pm Nov. 22, 2010-1inch of Snow |
The weather is something that each and every person experiences, but we all experience it differently. It wasn’t until I started writing that I discovered why I love living in Washington State.
I love the rain.
So I live in Washington State.
One of the things Stephenie Meyer didn’t get wrong about Forks, WA is the weather. The Hoho Rainforest is several miles away, and is the wettest place in the continental United States. Everything else she spouted off is pretty much baloney, but that’s beside the point.
I live hours away from Forks and just across the Puget Sound from Seattle.
Seattle gets a lot of rain.
My city gets a lot of rain.
But today, on this 22 day of November it is not raining.
It Is Snowing!
S-n-o-w-i-n-g…
Did I mention I love the rain?
I never use an umbrella. I think anyone who lives in Washington and uses one is a sissy.
I never wear jackets or socks and close-toed shoes. (Although, with snow before Thanksgiving I may have to think about it this winter.)
I try to avoid white shirts, because they will inevitably become see-through, and being married means I have to show some form of modesty.
I love watching people traverse the streets when it’s raining. If they aren’t sissies and don’t have an umbrella they twist their faces into ghastly looks of contempt as they hurry from one shelter to the next.
I love the way rain feels when it slithers down my arms, or that first drop that penetrates my hair and hits my scalp.
I love when the hems of my pants are soaked and the water crawls up the denim.
I love the way the air smells right before it rains. I get a lot of these moments.
I love the sound the rain makes when it hits the car while I’m driving down the freeway. But what I love more are those intermittent times when I drive under an overpass and silence fills the space for a tick of a second. There’s something about the roaring of the rain contrasted by the utter silence that makes both more fantastic.
Rain makes me feel alive in a way that nothing else does. But isn’t that what its supposed to do, bring life to everything.
It certainly brings life to Washington State.
I live in the Evergreen State because I love the rain.
But today the lushness is frosted.
It’s supposed to be six inches deep by day’s end.
I think it’s gonna be a long time before I see rain again.
My in-laws think I am nutso. And well, they’re probably right. But I’d rather be nutso than not.
Give me a couple reasons you love the weather/season you do.
Happy Reading. Happier Writing.
J
7 comments:
Hi Jodi! That was a wonderfully evocative appreciation of rain!
I love those fiercely bright early mornings after a heavy frost. The grass is scrunchy underfoot and there is a piercing bite to the air, but the sun gives the illusion of warmth and you can't help but smile. I love it when the sun melts the frost, except where the shadows lie, so that the shadows become white and the fields dark. I love the crackle of splintered ice on muddy puddles and the sparkle of sunlight playing on the icicles. Most of all I love the delicious steam of a hot chocolate on a cold nose - reward for braving the great outdoors!
snow doesn't apply much to me here in Hawaii, but I love your comment about writers experiencing things on a different level. I completely agree. On this episode of Castle, Beckett said to Castle, "Unlike you, I don't come to the subway to listen to dialogue." I loved that line! We have extra reasons for doing everything!
Oh no, not me. Rain and naturally curly hair, sooo not a good combo. But I detest snow more. I love my warm weather (except for the week between Christmas & New Years) and wished that Maryland would act more like Florida most of the time. Though I will admit to really like the two seconds of silence while driving under an overpass in the rain.
Quick question on your little counters over to the side. Are you writing the second book in a YA series at the same time you're writing the first?!?
I love all weather... except when driving home from school an hour and a half through sheeting rain, driving with cars going 80 on the freeway at 11 at night. At least if its above freezing there's some margin of safety. Great description of rain! My family has spent a lot of time in Oregon and Washington state and I agree that weather is the only thing Stephanie Meyer hit right on. I keep going back to what a writing teacher told me once, "Read some really good books and read some really bad books so you'll know what to avoid."
I can appreciate rain for a different reason - it hardly rains in Albuquerque. I miss the rain and I can relate of how much you love it. When it does rain, I want to do errands in it. Dash from the car and smell the freshly washed streets. Having blue skies all the time can get quite boring. That being said, I'm the same way with snow. Both are like rare gems to me!
I love this post and your descriptions were wonderful. BTW your son is so darn cute!
I love staying inside and writing on rainy days. Rainy days are perfect moody writing days. :) But, my wavy hair does not appreciate rain.
I don't wear socks either. Ew. I hates socks.
I'm new here. *waves* Nice to meet you. :)
Happy Thanksgiving,
Lola
I love when it's below freezing, the world is covered in snow, but the wind is still and the sky is the a clear, empty blue. I feel like I have the whole world to myself. That I can do anything.
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