Rain

It's raining here.  It started a couple of days ago and is supposed to continue through the weekend, with more due later next week.  It feels so good.  I told a good friend the other day how excited I was that it was raining, and she looked at me like I was nuts.  "But you hate rain!" she exclaimed.  

That's not entirely true--I only hate rain sometimes.  There's such a difference, you see, between winter rain and summer rain.  This is the first good summer rain we've had this season.  Winter rain is a slap in the face, the exclamation point at the end of the nasty weather sentence.  I hate rain in the winter because I hate the cold.  When it's cold, rain only makes it colder.  It makes it impossible to ever get warm.  You walk around outside for even a minute and your pants are soaked and it would take an inferno to get you thawed out.  Rain in the winter also freezes and makes it hard to get anywhere.  It's sinister, malevolent, and reminds me (who loves the heat) just how far I am from feeling comfortable and cozy and happy.  

Summer rain is a different beast.  I love summer.  I love the heat and the long days and the flowers and the smell of cut grass.  I love the beach and the pool, grilling out and stopping for ice cream.  I even love the rain.  Rain in the summer is fresh--it has purpose and potential, renewing the landscape and relieving the awful burden of heat and drought.  Rain in the summer feels like relief.  In the winter, rain makes everything so gray--in the summer and spring it seems to only make the greens even greener, colors brighter against the darker backdrop.  It is benevolent and reminds me to slow down and just listen to the drops.  It feels good as it splashes on my bare legs and flip-flops.  It makes me feel alive. 

This week has been the first summer rain of this season.  Things are automatically turning greener, and that fabulous smell that just says "spring" is in the air.  I can pop open my umbrella without shivering and there is so much potential in the air for the summer that it feels like the clouds are going to explode with it.  It's a good, clean, content feeling.  

I always feel my best in the summer.  For this one, my plans are set and I feel like I'm moving forward in a lot of good ways.  This year especially I am more than ready.