It's that time of year in Hong Kong when it feels like the sun may never shine again. Besides dampening the spirits and everything else, this weather is the pits when you have children.
Visits to the local park are out because climbing frames are wet. Anyway, for many of us (the parents that is, not the children) there is a psychological barrier to going out: the great outdoors just looks so unappealing that it's tempting to stay put and be miserable.
For my kids staying indoors for a whole day is just not an option. After a couple of hours of 'house arrest' cabin fever kicks in and they become impossible.
With April school holidays looming and the possibility of damp, grey weather more than likely, some positive thinking is needed lest we slip into the SAD season. Although it's not proven to exist in Hong Kong there is a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) that people in areas such as Scandinavia suffer from. A prolonged lack of sunlight causes the body's chemistry to change and depression results.
Although some people claim to suffer from SAD at this time of year it is doubtful that Hong Kong's grey season is long enough to cause it, but psychologists do readily acknowledge that some adults get depressed or 'blue' in gloomy weather. This condition is not known to affect children, unless parents allow their 'blue mood' to spread.
'SAD may be caused by chemical changes in neuro-chemicals, but it is just as likely to be caused by a lack of exercise, by not getting out and socialising and so forth,' says a psychologist.
In order to have a happy spring with my children I need to remind myself that I might feel depressed about this weather, but children don't generally see things in a negative light.