I must confess I have a love/hate relationship with rain. For me, rain is best enjoyed inside with a fire in the fireplace, a cup of coffee or hot cocoa in my hands, and reading a book by that same cozy fire. I do not enjoy being out IN the rain, particularly driving in it. It was 5 years ago that we were in our accident, as we were driving to Lorrie's grandparent's for Thanksgiving. The freeway was rain-slickened, and we were tapped by a spinning, out of control car, which pushed us into the center divider. Thankfully, injuries were minor (Lorrie suffered a broken wrist), but her Tahoe was totalled. Ever since then, I have a fear of driving in the rain. Not so much a fear that I'll lose control, but a fear that it's the OTHER person that is driving as if it was dry, and will lose control and cause an accident.
But the good side of rain, that healthy, refreshing drink that our parched southern California landscape needs, reaps future benefits. While most of the midwestern and eastern parts of our country are in snow, or deep fall, and green landscapes become brown and dormant, the opposite happens here: our hillsides become alive with green, verdant grasses, which eventually lead to wildflowers in the spring. Gentle rains clean the air of all the dust and grime that float around. Rains create that wonderful sound as they fall upon the awning, or off the rooftops. And rain creates within me the desire to listen, to read, to refresh my soul with the written word or the sound of music. It even asks me to slow down and enjoy a movie with the family.
So, come, rain. Refresh our souls and our surroundings.
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