What does a person do when they're sitting at home on a rainy day?
As a writer, I would say that writing would be a splendid activity for a day like this. So that's what I'll do. I'll write. But what to write about?
How about I write about writing?
I haven't written any blog posts in a while, partly because I haven't had anything to blog about, but also because I have finally begun working on another project. I'm about six chapters into a new book. After months and months of not writing anything, I'm back in the thick of things.
I had been debating back and forth between two stories — the one I'm currently working on and another one. Now that I finally have a clear winner, the runner-up will have to wait for another time. I'll plan that for my third book.
Unfortunately, though, I am currently in a bit of a lull with the project; nothing I'm concerned about, I just haven't had inspiration for a week or two. So today, I've decided to pontificate over here instead.
So that still leaves us with the question of what to do on this rainy day. While I'm trying to formulate an answer for that puzzler, I think I will list a few things not to do on a rainy day:
• Cut the grass
• Adjust the satellite dish
• Re-shingle the roof
• Clean the gutters
• Paint the garage
• Learn to roller-blade
• Golf
• Wash the car
• Build a deck
• Wash the neighbor's car
• Sell vacuum cleaners door-to-door
• Sell anything door-to-door
• Sunbathe
• Fly a kite
• And apparently, walk the dog
Our dog does not like the rain. He's gotten better over his year and a half with us, but when he was a puppy, it was hard to get him to go out in the rain. If he needed to do his business and it was raining outside, all bets were off. He would stand by the open door, staring in despair at the water dropping from the sky before turning his gaze up at the person standing behind him, prodding him to go relieve himself outside on the cold, soggy grass.
"Are you kidding me?" his expression would say. "I don't see you peeing outside in the rain. As a matter of fact, I never see you peeing outside at all ... even on sunny days. What's up with that?"
He also never sees us eating things off the floor or rolling around in rabbit poop, so maybe we don't need to be making hygiene comparisons.
This morning, he showed little interest in walking in the rain, even though he was sporting his posh new raincoat that his thoughtful mommy bought for him this summer. Raincoat or no raincoat, he was having none of it. There would be no walk for Copernicus until the rain stopped, which according to my weather app should be sometime in mid November, apparently.
So back inside we went.
Right now, my little four-legged companion is lying next to me in his little doggie bed that he outgrew months ago. He has other, more size-appropriate dog beds around the house, but he wants to be close to his papa while I sit at the computer, presumably writing about him. But what else would I be writing about?
While I could come up with a myriad of things not to do on a rainy day, I still haven't come up with an exciting plan for today.
So that cinches it. On this particular stormy day, I'll stay close to my warm, dry dog. Whether it be at the laptop, constructing the next great American novel or on the couch, with his head on my lap and the remote control within reach, my boy and I will spend the rest of this soggy afternoon doing what we like to do most on a day like today:
As little as humanly (and canine-ly) possible.