While some people don’t like the rain because of what it does to their hair and footwear, or because it means we have to lug about a sodden umbrella, there are a whole lot of things that I love about the rain.

Reading a book inside. There’s something infinitely satisfying about curling up on the couch inside the house with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate on a rainy day. I love watching the rain streak down the windows and clatter against the roof—it’s as though it’s telling me to stay inside and relax.

The smell after the rain. The rain brings with it that gorgeous smell of wet concrete and damp dirt. It’s a warm, cleansed smell that always make me think that the world has just been refreshed anew. If I could bottle that smell, I would!

Being out in the rain. Have you ever tried swimming or jogging in the rain? Forget about your hair for a moment, and give it a go. Swimming on a summer day as the rain massages my back is one of my favourite things to do.

Rainbows. Everyone loves the gorgeous arc of a rainbow, but let’s face it, if we want to see a rainbow, well, we have to make do with the rain. Rainbows are a happy reminder that there’s always something good in what we think of as the bad.

Its effect on the environment. Water is an essential resource, but it’s one that we may one day run out of. Without rain, we’d have nothing to fill our dams, or to keep our gardens or even our food crops alive.

So next time you’re feeling gloomy about the rain, try instead to think about all the positives it brings us—perhaps, like me, you’ll become a rain-lover, too.