J'aime la pluie!

This morning, I got caught in the rain. It wasn't a heavy rain, but I had left 3 umbrellas at work(yup...3. Is it any wonder I lose my keys on a regular basis?) and I didn't want to take the remaining one from home. So I got sprinkled on. Thankfully, my hair is up or I would look like the Bride of Frankenstein.
(Those of you with straight hair don't understand this concept, but those of us with a curly head of hair know that rain or humidity on un-prepared hair equals frizz city...)

Anyhow, I was being rained on, and I wasn't upset. In fact, I quite enjoyed it.

I love the rain!

I love the way it makes everything smell and look clean, I love the fact that it makes plants happy and shiny. I try not to think about the concept of "acid rain" and what IT is doing to my frizzy hair.

A classmate at University and I used to love going for long walks to local coffee shops in the rain and arriving soaking wet. No umbrellas were EVER used. In fact, it has only been since I have been working in a job where looking put together and not wet is important that I have started taking an umbrella to work. I really enjoy walking in the rain and getting drenched-providing I don't have to be anywhere other than my couch with hot chocolate after.

Sure, there are times, usually when I am driving, that I curse the infernal stuff. But generally, I am quite fond of the rain.

I think in order to survive as a West Coaster, one must develop a healthy respect for, if not a love of rain. After all, we get enough of it.

I am particularly fond of it today because of what it is doing to the streets around where I work.

Its cleaning them.

New Westminster is...well...yucky. Yes, it used to be the capital city of this fair province, and the buildings are beautiful, but in the last few years, New Westminster has plummeted downhill. The streets are nasty, the buildings are drab and the general feel of it is...well...yucky. It even smells bad-lately, Downtown New Westminster has smelled like burnt dust. Yes, I know, that is an oddly specific odour, but that is EXACTLY what it has smelled like!

Now it just smells clean and shiny.

I can see the beauty of the city-the architecture, the beautiful river, the history. No longer does it look like a discarded Kleenex. I can see a hint of its former grandeur, reflected in the shiny streets and sidewalks. I see its potential, what it is struggling to become again.

I love the rain.