What Getting Caught In The Rain Taught Me

It poured all weekend in LA which, honestly, wouldn’t be a big deal in most scenarios. I love the rain. I love weekends in, cuddled up, watching tv and movies. But last weekend was the weekend my older sister visited. And in that scenario, I had a lot of expectations for what I wanted it to look like. Most of those expectations included outdoor time.

Releasing plans and leaning into the present moment is something Emily and I preach often. Actually practicing that can be challenging though. This weekend was one of those tests for me. Would I focus my energy on the negative or the positive? Would I let things I can’t control fuel my frustration or spark creative ways to improve my situation? I like to think both my sister and I passed the test with flying colors.

We acknowledged how awful it was that it was raining, on more than one occasion. But we didn’t let it get us down. We took advantage of dryer moments to get outside, go for walks, shop, and bask in the few minutes of sun. One hour we pushed our luck and got caught in the rain strolling through Beverly Hills. Even then, we enjoyed the moment. We felt like Drew Barrymore and recorded cute videos of us looking like wet rats.

Sure, in an ideal world, we would have had ample outdoor time, enjoying the typical sunny LA weather. We would have seen the beach, shopped around, and had more energy to explore. For whatever reason, we needed the rain. I believe that. We needed time indoors, cuddled by the tv. We needed to find the spontaneity in life. We needed to talk for hours, order in pizza, and stay up late watching season 3 of OBX.

I have two amazing sisters and we are all 7+ years apart, living very different lives. Sister time is harder to schedule as we all get older. It requires effort, money, and time. It requires prioritizing each other and finding a weekend that suits all of our varying stages of life. My little sister always has some date party or sorority event. I have work or some new project that I’m completely enthralled with. My older sister has a five-year-old and a husband. It’s hard.

So, to me, I believe the rain washed away the bullshit and got us focused on what was most special — the fact that we were together in person. Sometimes what you need is the unexpected. Rain can dampen plans, quite literally. It did for us this past weekend and we desperately needed that.