There’s Something Pleasantly Relaxing About a Steady Summer Rain

What is it about a steady summer rain that so soothes the soul?

It’s a lazy summer Saturday. Tiny droplets gently pitter-patter on the skylight in the family room. Too soft to be called a “drumbeat,” it’s a beat nonetheless. A stable beat. A mesmerizing beat.

A beat that has you closing your eyes and relaxing. You snuggle a bit as you sink into the comfortably cozy couch cushions. It’s a reclining couch, triggered by a small button strategically placed within easy reach of your left arm. An electric whir compliments the soft thud of the continuing wet beat overhead as you lean back into your leisurely morning.

What is it about a steady summer rain that so soothes the soul?

You open your eyes again, but only for a moment. The dark grayness of the cloudy skies only encourages the pleasant idleness.

You snuggle once more into the cushions. Even though you softly lay within the dry indoor confines, your body feels the warmth of the summer humidity that blankets your surroundings.

You rest easy, knowing all is well…

In a far, far, distant past I recall the joys of watching the summer rain. Not a care in the world. My brother and father beside me. My mother… What was my mother doing? Probably reading. More likely worried my father would take his young boys on a muddy wet hike, leaving her to deal with the consequences.

Ha! The joke was on her. It would take another decade when, as teenagers, we’d frolic in the summer rain, splashing in backyard puddles, tempting the distant rumble of thunder.

At least then we were smart enough to wear our swim trunks. In our younger years, we were smart enough to stay out of the rain… and especially the mud.

That joy, however, never left. In our more mature versions, we continued to appreciate a good summer rain. Only now, we didn’t want too much lest the grass grow too high before we could cut it. And, worst of all possible worsts, we didn’t want it during those days-long campouts and their associated hikes through nowhere.

But, inside, within the walls of our own home, the tip-tapping of small globes of water against our windows still sends us back to those placid times. The times of carefree nothingness. When the only concern was to find that last baseball card to complete our set. Before there was school. Before there was work. Before there was the worry too familiar in adulthood.

Yet in the warm of that seasonal precipitation, all else evaporates.

What is it about a steady summer rain that so soothes the soul?

Is it the gentle pitter-patter that softly touches all around you?

Is it the warm humidity that blankets your entire atmosphere?

Is it the knowledge that the rain prevents you from doing outside chores, forcing you into the cozy environs of your home?

Is it the dark grayness of the cloudy skies that encourages a pleasant idleness that has you relaxing in your favorite cushioned seat?

It matters not, for in this moment, all is tranquil. All is divine.