On and Off

I left school today all geared up in a driving rain that was reasonably miserable for the first four miles or so, chilly and drenching with wind coming right at me, but I actually preferred that to what came after, a series of light showers that required me, sissy as I am about getting wet and pissy as I am about wearing my rain shit when it’s not, to dress and undress three different times, much to my dismay and the consternation of this older woman who I pulled up next to at a park bench to remove my pants, even if I did have another pair on underneath.

I suppose, since I was on my way home, that I could have just let myself get soaked, and if Grant Peterson is right about it being a good thing to occasionally be cold on a bike, then why not, but since I had my plastic pants and booties and my nicely water-resistant new Swrve Milwaukee Hoodie, it seemed a shame not to use them, but time and again (and again and again, to be exact) I had the stereotypical experience: as soon as I would get all my gear on and start pedaling, the rain would more or less stop; and then, as soon as I got undressed and began setting of once more down the trail, it would start up again.

This, though, is what it means to be spring in Seattle, and I’m glad that the dark days of winter are passed even though, thanks to the unwelcome advent of Daylight Saving Time, it’s once again the middle of the night when I try to awake in the morning.

And the air, freshened by the continual March showers, smells to me like watermelon, and daffodils are popping up all over, and yesterday morning, about a thousand sparrows were singing in our backyard, so where do I get off complaining about having to change clothes?