God bless our Great British weather. It truly is unfathomable. One day last week, I feel like all even the collective meteorological experts could do was stick their head out of the window, frown and have a stab at what might transpire in the skies over the forthcoming hour or so. The Met Office forecast changed its mind every hour and I appreciate why; heavy rain to sun…sun to light rain.…. light rain to hail…. hail to sun…sun to light rain. Wind however ALL day. That bit they got right. And then, in spectacular fashion and what I had been secretly hoping for all day, a majestic rainbow graced the heavens and I forgot all about the gloom instantly.

Why do us Brits care so much about the weather, persistently scanning the skies and frantically checking our apps hoping for the best possible outcome (and then probably having a good old conversation about it)?

Well, I think it’s a lot to do with how plentiful our options for activities that day are going to be, based on the forecast. Brits are well-known for soggy bar-b-qs, waiting for storms to pass by whilst on the beach, displaying various patterns and shades of sunburn or sporting outfits combining raincoats, flip flops and sunglasses (this I see very often in my hometown of Brighton particularly – there must be a higher-than-average number of cases of frostbitten toes treated in Brighton as people spring out the Birks, in my opinion, way too early on in the year).

I suppose we behave like this as we don’t like to let the outlook ruin our plans and we all get a little over- excited when the hint of better weather arrives.

For us as a family, optimum weather is essential as we need daily outdoor options. Since Lincoln was born and up to the present day, getting enough sleep has been a life-goal. We suspect that as well as Down Syndrome, which can sometimes exacerbate sleep disorders due to medical or other care issues, Lincoln may also be displaying some ADHD behaviours; the main one being excessive physical movement. The effect of the possible combination of these characteristics has caused us to analyse what we can do to help him and us as a whole family get the sleep that we need for each following day.  

The best solution we have found is exercise. And lots of it! Forests, hills, fields and the beach have become our go-to places and were our life-line in the pandemic. The walks do us good and are mostly full of edifying moments, helping us to create fond memories together in nature.

But sometimes, these escapades are hard and exhausting, mentally and physically, particularly when you have already dealt with a lot in the day and everything in your body is resistant to the idea of venturing out. Adding a torch to after-dinner walks in the winter was a genius move on Matt’s part and does add an element of adventure. But they often require more mental persuasion on everyone’s part as they are darker and colder and all you want to do on a frosty evening is cosy up and relax. Even when going out seems madness, we know it is necessary.

I was taught to always look for rainbows in the darkest part of the skies. I find it comforting that it is in the gloomiest part of the sky a rainbow is created and shines its brightest. It is the contrast between the two that stirs me somehow, the acknowledgement that one of my favourite natural phenomena can’t exist without first there being a downpour. I have to remind myself of this when seasons in life don’t seem immediately promising or rewarding. Those times where I am so used to focusing on the dark clouds that I forget for a while that storms pass and skies clear and that the sunshine still exists.  I am trying to learn from nature that the rain is a gift as well as the much-awaited sun and while I wait for it to shine again, I can always hope and look for rainbows.