Rain Weather

Among his diving friends, Big A (a certified technical diver) is called "Nature Boy." He does this party trick where he looks at the sky for a few seconds and accurately predicts when and if it will rain, how strongly, and for how long. In the twelve years I've known him, he has yet to get it wrong.

Apparently his son has inherited this talent. We have had five straight days of monsoon rains and a typhoon, causing school to be cancelled for the entire week. I have been spending entire days at the store, covering for staff who are unable to come in due to floods.

Over the weekend, at seemingly random times while playing, Little A would suddenly stop and scream. Sometimes he would wake up in the morning, listen, and start crying. When asked what was wrong, he would spell "rain today" or "rain day." We assumed that since he likes to spend a lot of the day swimming and playing outside, he was upset because the rain prevented him from doing this.

By day 3, however, he would get upset more frequently. In the car on the way to my sister's 40th birthday lunch, he grabbed my phone and typed "rain weather." I had no idea he could even spell the word "weather." And yes, it was raining at the time.

Tired of being cooped up indoors, he managed one rainy swim, and befriended a stray cat living in our building's carpark. This affectionate feline would hang around the spot where I dropped Little A off after school, and he, the Au Pair, and I have been spending hours down there instead of on the playground or by the pool.

This morning, while playing, the cat suddenly started miaowing loudly. After a few seconds, Little A started to scream. I thought he was annoyed with the cat's noise, but he marched over to the wall and pointed out the letters R, A, I, N from the sign that says "Please park your cars facing wall". I pointed out the window at the sun shining on the golf course next door and told him not to be upset as the sun was shining.

He carried on screaming and spelling out "rain" I took him upstairs, got my mobile phone and asked him again what was upsetting him. He typed in "Rain Baby Noah". Then he ran up to the hedge in front of our window and buried his face in it.

Two minutes later, while we were still standing on the (covered) balcony, the rain poured down. I asked Little A if he knew it was going to rain, and if that was why he was upset. He nodded his head, yes. I apologised for calling him overdramatic, and we had a hug.

I wonder if this weather prediction talent is something we can exploit in future. For the meantime, I must remember to tell his teachers that in case Little A suddenly gets upset in class and spells out "rain," they should cease all outdoor activities for the time being and remain safely indoors.