Today's Weather Report Is...

This image pretty much speaks for itself I think. Also today the temperatures are more winter-like than we have had the last couple of beautiful sunny days. Rain is predicted, too, through Sunday. But the tease is that on those days we should see temperatures in the upper sixties to low seventies. The little verse "April showers bring May flowers" is such a positive statement about lots of rainy days, but there is no equally positive one about the long winter of grey, gloomy, and wet days. My daughter lives in California where they hope for as many wet days as possible in the winter in order to help mitigate drought-like summer conditions. While I don't think I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (interesting that those initials spell the work SAD), I definitely feel less energetic and up-beat when I have to turn on my lights in the day time and look out and see an outside world that is less than inviting, too. I remember years ago when shopping for bathroom window treatments at a department store waiting in line to check out. We had had nearly a month when every day had been cloudy and often rainy. The shopper ahead of me was particularly surly and rude to the store clerk, and when it was my turn, I commented about that as she checked out my purchase. The clerk was not the least upset or ruffled by the attitude of the previous shopper and told me that it was pretty much the norm that she experienced after many days of inclement weather. In some ways, probably because there is little we can do to control it, we take the weather a bit for granted. It is something we want and need to know about and often plan our activities accordingly, but I think we rarely actually consider how it affects us on a daily basis unless it is extreme. However, the sun is a major component for creating and maintaining good health, both mentally and physically. When we get adequate sunshine we have stronger bones, lower blood pressure, sleep better, have fewer issues with depression and anxiety, and have increased vitamin D in our bodies. It doesn't take much sun to provide these positive benefits either, just five to fifteen minutes of exposure a week. All of this is because the sun helps our bodies to make the hormone serotonin, the"happy hormone." I have had two wonderful back to back sunny and warm days lately when I got to be outside and even spending some socially distanced times with friends. That should carry me through the next several cloudy ones, hopefully. One of the songs in the musical "Annie" says it all about sunny days and how to cope with the grey and gloomy ones. Here are some of the lyrics that put it all in a nutshell:

When I'm stuck with a day that's gray and lonely I just stick out my chin and grin, and say, oh

The sun'll come out tomorrow.

So you gotta hang on 'til tomorrow Come what may.

Tomorrow, tomorrow I love ya tomorrow You're always a day away.