Rainy days and Mondays

It has been the most gray, rainy, humid miserable-weather summer I ever remember. Coming off a brutal winter and volatile spring, I had high hopes for this season. As Texas and California (and South Africa) face unbearable dryness, New Jersey is suddenly Seattle-meets-London-meets-Darjeeling during monsoon season. 

At the sake of sounding like a Carpenters song (and anyone under 40 is like, Who are the Carpenters?), I can't help but think how dreary Mondays feel when it rains. [Full disclosure: it rained on Saturday and Sunday, too, but today it just feels more depressing.]

There are so many songs on my mental playlist about rain: Here comes the rain again; She's only happy when it rains; November rain; I love a rainy night; and of course, It's raining men. But, my earworms are no consolation. I just miss the sun. It's August and I don't have tan lines. School starts in three weeks and I feel cheated out of my favorite season. Winter has expanded to last 8 months, yet it's rained for 8 of my precious 12 weeks of summer.  

So, this morning, I had a good little chat with myself. Geez, Andrea, it's only rain. What's your problem? Know what I've discovered? I've found that my busyness this summer with my regular full-time corporate job plus gearing up for the launch of my own new brand, has sucked the frivolity and fun out of this summer--it's not just the rain. I haven't had many spare, idle moments to sit around with a book or to take my kids for ice cream in our topless Jeep. Family game nights (Mondays) have been replaced by me taking classes about SEO while my kids binge on Netflix and my husband watches videos about perfecting his golf swing. 

I may just be feeling a little burnt out, but my eye is on the prize. I'm putting in the time now, so I can MAKE more time later. And what better summer to sacrifice than the one where the sun's been MIA, amusement parks have been closed, and flash-floods have forced people to hunker down at home? It would be a lot harder to stay motivated if it was 80 and sunny when I'm supposed to be building a nurture campaign.

Yes, it's a Monday, and yes it's raining...again. Pull on your Wellies, girl! We just have to trudge through the muck for a while. A little rain makes us appreciate the sunshine, right?

Now tell me, what are you doing to get to sunnier days in your life and work? I'd love to hear about it.