Something about the rain......

We had our first rain early this morning - the first rain in a long time.  It came through quickly, and showered the area in badly needed water.  Unfortunately, it was not enough rain to really do any good - we still are in a major drought.  And all it did was to slick up the freeways and highways so that the not-so-good drivers who still do 80 on a wet roadway become even MORE dangerous.  

I have a love-hate relationship with the rain.  I love it because it makes everything look fresh. I hate it because it wakes me up at night and while some folk find it peaceful and helpful for sleep, it keeps me awake.  I love it because it means I don't have to water, and my now brown lawns might get a slight sheen of green.  I hate it because 6 years ago we were in an accident that totalled my wife's Yukon and broke her wrist, all because a careless driver hit us and pushed us into the concrete median.  

Rain evokes such strong memories for me as well. Pleasant ones of sitting in my dad's studio at the end of my parent's San Clemente house, a fire in the Swedish fireplace, and listening to the rain on the roof. Unpleasant ones of looking out the front of our Glendale house and seeing the street out front several inches deep with muddy water, and some of it going down our driveway and into our backyard.  I was probably just a preschooler then, but I still remember seeing my mom and my brother Donald working in the backyard to keep the water from the house.  

Rain also is one of the "triggers" I have to slow down and enjoy it.  As much as I like to be outdoors, out in nature, when it rains, that's my signal to light a fire and find a book.  That was something ingrained in me by my parents, because that's what they'd do.  Our Glendale house had a huge Palos Verdes rock fireplace in the family room, and my mom would keep a fire going in there and read there.  My dad's studio was a place to be on a rainy day.  And now, with a nice big fireplace in our living room, having a fire in here and enjoying a book while it's raining (and no one's awake yet) is pure bliss for me.