Eau de la Fusty.

There's a definite whiff of 'eau de la fusty' as Mr Rainy Season slaps it on enthusiastically, heralding his imminent 2010 debut.Rainy season,the last stand before the setting on the Tokyo fan oven is zapped up and those hot and humid days stretch out before us,like a pair of old, unwashed,tan tights that are receding fast in the crotch area.I love the rain.I've always loved the rain.My youngest daughter's middle name in Japanese means 'little rain'. My earliest childhood memories are full of being all snug in bed,hot chocolate on the side table,Grandma reading me an Enid Blyton tale,the pitter pattering of the rain on the roof and windows soothing me into dreamland.The only other time I have probably ever felt so safe or snug was in my mother's womb...not that I can remember that far back but there's always hypnosis...when I find the time.

Now I have children of my own,the rain has added a new slant to the positives to be enjoyed of such a day.I can be a total slob.As anyone reading this who has the weighty responsibility of getting the 'halflings' out the door of a morn knows,it can be quite a feat.An accomplishment, I feel should be awarded it's own category in the Olympics.Take today as an example.Just the usual morning grind,the kids staring into space,scratching bums,picking noses,playing the 'who can smell the stinky finger without pulling a face' game...don't ask.Anything than what I told them to do,like get some clothes on.Walking around school naked,isn't going to make you popular ........ well,not for all the right reasons anyway.It's time to leave and while what I call make up was done,I hadn't got round to dressing myself.I could see the pile of clothes I'd picked last night,waiting forlornly on a chair in the bedroom.Eyeing the huge red,rain poncho,I made a snap decision to just flow with the day.I pulled on my tartan rain boots over my PJ bottoms and I could have gone out topless with the poncho on,for anybody knew.An adage my mother handed down to me as I boarded the plane to Narita years ago was "Always make sure you are wearing clean knickers and your boobies are in their appropriate positions before leaving the house...just in case." And with the boobie twins bracketed into their appropriate positions,leave the house we did.Now,I do appreciate that this wouldn't have worked on an actual working from home day or if I'd been wearing the Karma Sutra PJs depicting couples in various couplings bought for me years ago but never yet worn........ but that's why I took advantage.I waltzed around,shopped and was stopped by a few 'older' ladies commenting on the lovely teddy bear design of my trousers. That's the thing here too.The Japanese are really into 'cute'.Home appliances and gadgets with little cute designs on line the shelves in stores.Women themselves aspire to be 'cute' whereas if someone referred to me as 'cute',I'd be horrified.Intelligent,independent,considerate,kind are some of the attributes I hope could one day be bantered around whenever my name is mentioned.Along with graceful,elegant,astounding intelligence of course.......

Yes,I do love the rain.The rain has always been an ally of mine.I'll be tucked up in bed later with a good book and some hot chocolate.I may have moved across the world,literally universes but some things you just can't change.