She Loves the Rain

This started with the weather.

I noticed how often people talk about rain and snow like they’re problems to solve. Living in upstate New York, it’s almost default conversation. And I realized it bothered me more than it probably should have. Not in a judgmental way. More in a quiet, we’re talking around something kind of way.

When I was a kid, weather was filler. Something to talk about when what was really happening felt uncomfortable to name. The difference is I always had words for what was actually going on. I would say the thing. To myself. To the adults in the room. And I’d usually get in trouble for it. I’ve never wanted to talk about the weather when there was clearly something else that needed to be said. I’ve always been this person. As an adult, I made a small decision. I didn’t want weather to be something I complained about or used to fill space. I wanted it to be something I noticed. If it was raining, I let it rain. If it snowed, I watched it instead of bracing against it. It wasn’t a grand mindset shift. Just a preference. A way of staying a little closer to my own life. Somewhere in there, I realized my love for Sundays feels similar. Not because they’re always soft or slow, but because they’re unpredictable. Some Sundays are slow mornings, a second cup of coffee poolside. Some are rushing out the door yelling, “Do you have your cleats?” “Where is Harlow?” “Does anyone know where my keys are?” Some are summer days full of family and all the noises that scream, this is home. Sundays carry their own energy, just like the weather does.

And no matter what kind of day it is, there’s always beauty inside it if I’m paying attention. Rain has its own kind of beauty. Snow does too. Even gray skies that feel flat at first glance have something honest about them. They’re unapologetically themselves. I think that’s what I really love. Not just in days, but in people too. When something or someone is simply what it is, without trying to be anything else, I’m drawn in. I don’t know what came first. The Sundays or the weather. I’m not sure it matters. I just know I like letting both be what they are. And I like finding the beauty that’s already there. I make Wision boards (wins and vision) because I like living with direction. But this year, the theme that keeps showing up is simpler. I’m romanticizing my life on purpose. In a small, daily, ordinary way. A love note written through how I move through my days.

I move my body like an athlete training for a long, healthy life. Not to fix anything. To stay in the story. To be strong enough to carry my life. To still be here for it years from now. That mindset followed me into my kitchen. Into how I make coffee in the morning. Into using the nice plates on an ordinary night. Into pulling up a Michelin star chef’s recipe and giving it a shot without overthinking it. Not worrying if I’ll get it perfect. Just letting myself enjoy the process of trying something a little elevated in the middle of a regular day.

It shows up in letting Valentine’s Day explode in my house just because joy deserves room. In wearing perfume with nowhere to go. In noticing rain on the windows instead of narrating it away. In choosing to be inside my life instead of rushing past it. I can’t wait to see what other areas I let a little romance into. In the meantime, I’ll be observing patterns like it’s my job Minding my own business. Paying attention to what’s actually here.

It might have started with the weather. Or maybe the Sundays. I’m not sure. But I know it’s not stopping there.

A girl who loves the rain,
nicolette