by Michael Allen McCormick

Created on: May 22, 2008

Being an Oregonian with five children, I have had a plethora of opportunities to figure out what I should do with them on a rainy day.

They say Oregonians have webbed feet, so we are used to seeing that drizzle a good part of the year. I tell the kids, we won't melt. Let's grab our umbrellas and go for a walk in the rain. Better yet, leave the umbrellas behind and let the rain drench our heads and run down our chins.

I let them have fun with it. I am not one of those mud puddle Nazi's that won't let my kids tromp their boots and make a splash. Kids love that stuff. It's also fun to watch their reactions when the dog does a big shake all over them. Lighten up people, it's just rain.

You say that they will catch their death of cold? My kids are happy and healthy. We have never experienced pneumonia. The key is limiting your exposure, taking nice hot showers, getting into dry clothing and eating a bowl of my rainy day home made chili.

If the weather is really nasty, we go for drives. Yes, you can drive in the rain. Ever heard of all season radial tires and windshield wipers? Here in Oregon, we are just a short distance from the mountains or the ocean. You can take your pick. I usually do the mountains on sunny days so I can do a picnic and see the peaks. The ocean is really interesting to look at in the rain. The surf kicks up and gets violent. Enough about that, you can't all be lucky enough to live in Oregon.

I know the song, but will I let rainy days and Mondays get me down? Heck no... Well maybe Mondays. Karen Carpenter didn't have a clue.

You can play board games, watch movies. These are things we can do if we want to let the rain keep us indoors. Not bad options either. Sometimes we get out the Karaoke machine and invite friends over.

This won't be the most popular idea, but cleaning house (bedrooms too) is always something that we can do. We can tackle the things we neglect on days we would be out playing in the sun.

What about the Internet? We can surf here on rainy days. While my kids are downloading ring tones for their cellphones and working on their Myspace pages and making Utube videos, I can be writing on Helium.

Then they can get their cell phones out and send text messages about all the cool stuff they are up to.

I never let the rain get me down. I have even had back yard barbeque's in the rain.

The Seattle Mariner's have a rolling roof on their stadium. That's what we do in the Pacific Northwest. We know it rains alot here, so we find ways to deal with it.

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