It’s a Rainy Day. What do you Do?

I have lived in Florida for 22 years now. I grew up in Upstate New York in the 2nd cloudiest city in the United States, Syracuse. When I moved to Florida, I thought it would be a tropical paradise with non-stop sunshine. After all, it is known as the Sunshine State.

One difference I quickly observed between New York and Florida was how people spend their time during rainy days. In New York, the Malls and Movie theaters were crowded in rainy weather as people sought to escape the wetness by spending them doing leisure activities. When the weather was sunny, these destinations were deserted as people spent their time enjoying the rare summertime weather. In Florida, it was quite the opposite. During those numerous hot and humid days with the radiating sunshine, people escape to the air-conditioned malls and theaters to escape the heat and sun. When it rains, these venues are deserted as people don’t like to venture out when there is a possibility of getting wet. I think the reckless driving in wet weather has something to do with it as well.

In Florida, I quickly found that, especially in the summer, there is a daily rain shower. It may not hit the entire area. In fact, sometimes it only rains in part of our neighborhood for just a minute or two.

It is unusual for us to have all-day soaking rains, but they do happen occasionally. When I happen to be home and not working at my day job during those days, there are a number of ways I have been known to spend these days.

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Netflix/Hulu/Amazon and Chill

I am a binge watcher. I have been known to watch an entire season of a television show within one rainy day. There is nothing quite as embarrassing as having Netflix prompt you to see if you’re still watching. It’s like the app is calling you a loser for sitting in front of the T.V. for that long. Of course, thanks to the dual monitor setup on my computer, I can happily binge and work at the same time.

My latest binge watching has included:

• Stranger Things
• Ray Donovan
• CSI (Yes, I never watched it when it aired and I’m now binging all 16 seasons)
• Mind Hunters (A great Netflix original based on early FBI profilers that interviewed serial killers).
• The Black List (It’s improved greatly this season)
• The Big Bang Theory (It’s just funny)
• Curb Your Enthusiasm
  

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Read a Book

This is always an option. I’m a voracious reader. I used to read exclusively when I went to bed at night, but I’m finding that it’s becoming harder to stay awake for reading after working a 14 hour day. Now I read when I travel or just because I want to read. Rainy days are great for this. My favorite time is when we lose power due to a hurricane or storm and reading becomes one of the only options.

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Cook

My nine-year-old daughter Lillie loves to cook. I love to cook with her. She is now able to bake several things on her own and has helped me make lasagna for family dinners for the past two years. It’s a fun time to bond with her and make some great food.

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Eat

See the previous item. Eating is a comforting activity and something about making soup, stew or chili during the rainy weather helps take out the dampness in the air.

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Oh Yeah, Writing

Writing is a great activity anytime, but when it’s rainy outside, I feel less guilt over other things I could be doing with that time. I can’t go outside. I might get wet. I just have to remember to save my work often in case the power goes out. Writing is the ultimate leisure time activity for me. I still enjoy doing it whenever I can. That’s a good sign after five-plus years of serious writing effort.

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What about you? How do you spend those rainy days.