So how's the weather today?

Is there anything more cliché than talking about the weather?   And yet, here is a blog post about just that......

In Florida, we are used to enviably beautiful weather.  Sunshine and warm temperatures, sea breezes and clear skies.   

Today, I woke to a dismal gray day though.  Thick cloud cover, thunder rumbling, and rain pattering on the roof above.  Today is all about fluffy socks and comfy clothes and an afternoon of movies at my house.   

I love the subtropical climate of my Florida home.  I love the sunshine and the warm weather and especially the mild winter that spoils us with perfect atmospheric conditions for months at a time.  But, there is something so cozy about stormy rainy days like today.  I honestly don’t know which I prefer.  

When storms threaten and the sky darkens and thunder rocks the sky, I am filled with a feeling of snugness and safety within the walls of my humble little home.  And I am oddly filled with a sense of anticipation too-- as I watch the clouds drift ever closer and hear the thunderclaps grow louder and more ominous.  By the way--did you know that Central Florida is the lightning capital of North America?  We get more lightning strikes here than anywhere else on the entire continent.  Our storms are God's light shows and they're far more awe-inspiring than any fancy Fourth of July fireworks display.  

My parents lived in the Pacific Northwest for a few years.  The weather there was always rainy and cloudy.  They could go for weeks without seeing the sun because of the misty, foggy, overcast weather that was the norm for that area.  

I couldn’t handle that but a rare stormy day every once in a while, to remind me of the benefit of hunkering down at home just relaxing, a day like today when I can put my feet up and enjoy the sound and sights of the rain drumming steadily against the window panes and then running in little rivers all the way down the side--  that I’ll gladly take. 

 photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chavals/4194668845/">Chaval Brasil</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>