Rainy Day Folder Revisted

At one point in my life, I used to look forward to a nice, long, rainy day.  

Of course, this doesn't mean I can't appreciate a rainy day now - this is just a recognition that, once I started farming, rain did not mean the same thing as it once did.  After all, rain does not exempt me from chores, or harvesting and cleaning for deliveries.  In fact, rain often just made work more difficult - so it really wasn't the same thing at all!

In the past, a rainy day would be a day to go through some old papers or clean off the desk or clean out the closet... or some sort of thing along those lines.  As I would do these tasks, I would invariably find an item or two that would provide me with a fond remembrance or an emotional boost.  

A letter from a friend who is no longer with us.

The engine of an electric train.

And, oh… that’s where that notepad went. It was important at one time. Maybe it will be again.

Rainy days used to slow me down and given me "cause" to perform tasks that would expose me to things I had not seen in a while. It gave me opportunities to reflect and reframe my current state of being.  Of course, I would have no guarantee that I wouldn't find things that would bring about painful reminders too (ooops, you forgot to fill out that form before the deadline!).  But, the main idea here is that a rainy day often meant that I had a chance to revisit or rediscover something good.

And, so, once the pandemic started (2020), I created an electronic "rainy day folder," to be opened on those days when I need a boost.  It's not required that it actually be raining - it can be any time I'm feeling like I'm just not good enough or I'm feeling down.

One of the neat signs people created so we knew who was picking up farm produce and eggs during the pandemic

What's in the folder?

Well, it’s my folder and I hope you’ll forgive me if I don’t share all of the details outright. In fact, some of the things in that folder won’t make any sense to you. Other items could make you question my priorities - or at least the way I assign value. But all of it, for one reason or many, has the ability to provide me with much needed medicine.

Medicine that just might help me get through a difficult moment.

Because we’re small-scale farmers, it’s only natural that some of the things in the Rainy Day Folder have something to do with our work. It can mean more than you think when people purchase produce or eggs and then show pleasure in receiving those things.

And, the connections I have to the outdoors makes certain images good candidates for the folder as well. I took the image of the hosta leaf right after a very light, misty rain. The sun was just peaking out near the horizon and provided me with some light. But, I wasn’t taking a picture of the leaf and droplets as much as I was recording a moment when things felt good and right.

Another farm customer shared an image of the heirloom tomatoes they purchased, along with some sprigs of basel.

But I will answer a different question.

What IS the folder, exactly?

I actually wrote about the “Rainy Day Folder” for the first time in 2020. If you’ll recall, many of us were trying to figure out how we would stay connected. We were uncertain about the future. And there was a lot going on that made us question. And worry. And fear.

It was a time when it was often easier to cry than it was to laugh. It was far too easy to think the worst of others. Yet, it was also a time when people were extraordinarily kind and giving. Individuals were dipping into their creativity and seeking to share in new and interesting ways. And, believe it or not, it was also a time where some showed how extraordinarily wonderful humans could be.

Get well cards after 2021 kidney surgery

My Rainy Day Folder is an eclectic and collection of things that were written, spoken, performed or shared that lifted my spirits. I do have some physical items in the Rainy Day Folder, but there is also an electronic version of it that resides on my computer. Many items there are simple snippets of text. Words someone had directed to Tammy and I that lifted our spirits.

Or remind us of the things we value.

Or tell us we were loved and affirm that we do bring value to this world - even if we don’t feel like we do at a particular moment in time.

Since Iowa is looking at a few days of potentially heavy rain with storms starting today (Friday), it seemed like a good time to consider the Rainy Day Folder once more. I think I’ll take a moment or two and dig through the cartoons, puns, images, and words and let them work their magic.

Clipping of a Far Side cartoon given to me several years ago and rediscovered for the Rainy Day Folder

I hope you also have some sort of a Rainy Day Folder. And, if you do, I hope you take the time to browse through it once in a while. And, if you don’t, let me remind you that you are worthy of one.

Here’s to taking a few moments and rediscovering its contents and the meanings behind them.