The rain comes and goes. Everywhere else seems to have deluges. We have sprinkles. It rains just enough for the dogs’ paws to get muddy and leave prints on my newly washed and waxed kitchen floor. I clean the prints off even though I know they will reappear again and again. I just can’t give in to the mud, a bit of compulsion I know.

The windows are shut against the rain. The dampness makes it feel colder. Today will be chilly. Right now it is 66° and will rise only to 70°.

When I was a kid, I walked to school every day whether it was a pretty day or a rainy day or a snowy day. I didn’t mind pretty or snowy, but I hated walking on rainy days. I had to sit in class with my socks and shoes and even the bottom of my skirt wet. I had snow boots but not rain boots. My shoes squished when I walked. My socks got heavy when they were wet, especially on the bottoms. Sometimes I would wring them out in the girls’ room. They never seemed to dry.

In the winter on a rainy day, the classroom smelled like wet wool. All of the windows were shut so the air didn’t clear. It was a bit thick, almost stifling. We didn’t go out for recess on a rainy day. We ate lunch and, afterwards, we could walk around the classroom, but it didn’t help much to get over not going outside and not having recess. The last classes went slowly. The clock never seemed to move. The minutes took hours.

Afternoons at home, after another walk in the rain, were comfy and cozy. I’d put on dry, warm clothes, get comfortable in bed under the covers and read. It was my private place, my quiet place. I always had a book, sometimes two books, waiting to be read.

Even now, I love being cozy on a rainy day. The sound of the rain beating against the windows and the roof is comforting, holding me close and lulling me to my quiet place. I do love the rain.

The morning is pretty but warm and humid. It is already 74°. Rain is predicted for this evening into tomorrow. I should have foreseen that forecast. Yesterday I washed and waxed the kitchen, bathroom and hall floors. I figure rain is a direct consequence of this frenzy of activity. I am driving myself crazy with all this cleaning. It has to stop.

Today I’m heading out to Agway to buy a few flowers. The perennials are on sale. I also want to buy a certain cat food which Jack devoured last night. I have been buying a variety of tastes to find out which Jack will eat. Most mornings, when I clean his dish, I end up throwing away just about a whole can but not today. Almost all of is gone. It is also the most expensive of any I’e bought. Of course it is.

When I was a kid, Labor Day confused me. How is it that people don’t work on Labor Day? I figured it should have been called Day Off Day. Back then everything was closed except corner stores. The red store was open, but I don’t think the white store was. Labor Day was also the last day of summer for most kids. School started on Tuesday. I was always excited for school to start, for a change in my day. I filled my school bag with the new pencil case, binders and white lined paper. My mother always made an amazing lunch on the first day. Hostess usually made an appearance.

Last night when the dogs went out I did too. I sat on the deck for a while. All the houses but mine were dark. I could hear the dogs in the brush of my backyard, and when Nala ran, I could hear the jingle of her tags. Henry joined me and kept watch. Nala stayed in the yard. They both followed me into the house.