Rainy Day Gear

For the last few weeks one of the major topics of elevator and water cooler conversation has been the weather. We all realize that in one sense, we’re lucky. So far, we’ve escaped the severe tornadoes and floods that have devastated other areas of the country. We also don’t face the threat of wildfires from drought conditions. But the weather just hasn’t been normal for April and May.

Typically in late May I’d be thinking about flip flops, shorts, and lightweight tops. Not this year. In addition to being cooler than usual, it’s rained for about the last two months straight, and shows no sign of stopping. I’ve become accustomed to seeing daily flood alerts on TV and in the local papers.

I live far enough away from any rivers that I don’t fear for my housing. I have had to take alternative routes a few times when driving to avoid flooded streets, but so far have managed all right. It’s walking in the rain that has become increasingly challenging, and I both like and need to walk a far amount each day.

This past week has been the worst. While walking around town I’ve seen water flowing through the streets on several occasions. Instead of being able to hop over puddles when crossing the street, I’ve had to wade through the water, all the while wondering what might be in it.

My raincoats are okay for most days, but even they failed to protect me a couple days this week. I have a bunch of umbrellas that seem to work okay under normal conditions. But when the wind picks up — as it has on several recent occasions — they fail me as well. But it’s my feet that are finally begging for mercy.

Right now I have three different pairs of work shoes lined up in my entryway; the three pairs of shoes that were completely drenched when I returned home from work the last three days. And of course, they also got wet on my way to work, meaning I sat with wet feet for at least a few hours in my office. But yesterday, a light finally went off when a co-worker put on rain boots before going out to lunch. Rain boots!

How did I manage to miss out on the variety of rain boots that’s now available? I spent a few minutes this morning searching online and couldn’t believe the variety of styles, colors, and patterns of rain boots that’s currently available.  So later today I’m going to head out and buy a pair. I figure the worst that can happen is that once I’m prepared, it’ll finally stop raining.

I have a couple different raincoats that do the job most days, but I’m honestly thinking of investing in a cheap yellow rubber raincoat for the days when the rain switches from steady to torrential. And I’m also going to look for rain hats for those days when the wind makes umbrellas impossible to use.

If you live in an area that gets lots of rain, do you have rain boots? Do you have any tips on buying rain boots?

LinnieGayl