Sarah Nigbor

We are about to enter my least favorite time of year. I call it Sprinter. It’s when weather seesaws between Winter and Spring, leading to bouts of freezing cold rain that turns to sleet on a dime, not to mention mud that freezes into hard ridges, teasing warm temperatures that plummet below freezing and never knowing whether Mother Nature will send 18 inches of heavy, wet snow or 3 inches of rain.

Sprinter seems to drag on f…o…r…e…v….e….r. It usually runs from late February to April but can last into May. It’s a moody, rollercoaster time of year that can’t decide what it wants and I don’t like it. I like knowing where I stand. And though I know it’s necessary and we need it, I really hate rain.

Yes, rain. I don’t mind it if I can stay indoors out of its clutches, but since I’m not a hermit, I usually have to go out into it. I don’t melt if it touches me, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I did. It flattens and frizzes my hair, gets on my glasses and makes clothes damp and uncomfortable. I have yet to find an umbrella that adequately protects me from rain, that doesn’t turn into a parasail in strong winds.

Have you ever sat at a baseball, softball, football or soccer game in the freezing rain, trying to cheer on your kid though you’d give anything to be wrapped in a warm, dry quilt with a steaming cup of hot coffee? Not fun. Don’t even lie. There is nothing fun about that. At least the athletes get to keep moving and stay a little warm.

Every garage sale I’ve ever had was ruined by rain. I’ve always said, if we’re ever going through a drought, I will just hold a garage sale. Because it will definitely rain, even if the weather report says 80 degrees, dry and sunny. My mom and I held our last garage sale a couple of years ago in August. As I raced around trying to cover table after table with tarps in whipping winds and driving raindrops, I vowed to myself “Never again.” She’s tried to sway me, but I’m holding firm.

And what about events that get ruined, or at least made less fun, by rain? All that hard work, time and energy can be washed away, literally and figuratively, in one storm. I have huddled inside the rabbit barn at the Pierce County Fairgrounds at least twice while lightning, wind and rain whistled through the battened down windows and doors during the rabbit costume contest. When I worked for the Pierce County Herald, our Cheese Curd Fest parade float, coworkers and I were drenched in a torrential downpour that left behind steamy, muggy, nasty humidity before the parade even started. At least we weren’t alone in looking bedraggled. And don’t even get me started on how many times I’ve driven home from Madison from the Wisconsin Newspapers Association convention (typically held in March) in freezing rain/sleet. One time it took me 10 hours to get home, thanks to jack-knifed semis and 2 inches of ice on the freeway.

The kicker of all rain events in my life dumped 7 inches of rain in about an hour, causing Goose Creek to overflow its banks (I lived in Beldenville at the time), flood our house and soak almost everything I owned. My dogs were swimming happily in the yard while my family and I sucked wet, dirty debris out of the house as the floodwaters receded. Floors had to be replaced, drywall taken out and redone and mold abated. Yuck.

Can you tell I really don’t like rain? I know April showers bring May flowers, but what does February rain bring? The meteorologist this morning (Tuesday) said we may be in for some rain this week. It may be an unpopular opinion, but give me snow any day.