Tuesday, May 12, 2009

At Long Last

The sky broke its long silence today.
We finally had a good, heavy rain.
I'd heard it was going to happen, but I doubted.
I watched the sky all day, straining my eyes for a heavy-laden cloud.
It felt a little muggier, but it has been so hot and dry (record-setting, in fact) that I decided it had all been a cruel joke. No rain would be coming.
I picked up Emma and we settled in at home to read a bit of Anne of Green Gables before we picked up Andrew from an after-school club, and when we stepped outside to get get back in the car, the air was still. And that's when I knew it was coming.
There's a special kind of before-storm still that we get around here. It's like the trees and the air and the critters have all drawn in a deep, anticipatory breath.
By the time we got home, the clouds were darkening and ganging up on our town.
At the first crack of thunder, I put down all my chores and went to my porch. My porch and I haven't spent enough time together this year. Blame it on whatever you will. But this was a moment not to be missed. So I snuck the book out there with me and got caught. Emma was also drawn to the porch and scolded me, "are you reading ahead?" I just nodded.
We felt the cool air swirling around us, fighting with the hot air as the winds picked up.
Andrew joined us soon and my two children were suddenly very chatty.
I admonished them to hush. Listen. Wait.
And finally, the rain came. It kicked up the dust and surprised the love bugs. My parched yard flooded. And the wind knocked my corn clean over. We didn't think about the side of the house and my neighbor's fence forming a wind tunnel when we planted all those seeds. Some of it may recover. If not, it's just a lesson learned.

And when it was all over, an amazing double rainbow spanned the sky.

The first rain after our long, dry season is always so welcome. We were not the only ones in our neighborhood sitting on a porch, waiting for the deluge.

Daily Bliss: finally finishing up a dress that's been sitting around in a state of error. it was a small fix, but i'm glad it's done.

5 comments:

Amy Button said...

So happy for you guys. I'd been somewhat keeping up with it and have been surprised that it's been so hot there. Last May when we were there for Amanda's graduation the weather was beautiful. I thought that the 90's was really high for this time of year. I hope you get *lots* more.

claibornes corner said...

I love the Rainbow and I'm glad you got some rain finally - I do not like the drought!

Mary said...

Whoo Hoo for rain!!!!

I'm so glad you got your deluge. And I'm even gladder that you had an opportunity for a nice moment with your porch.

Jessica said...

It was nice, wasn't it? We were enjoying the same sight from our back patio. We definitely missed out on the rainbow though!

frabjouspoet said...

I, too, sat on my porch and enjoyed the sweet breezes and what little rain we did get yesterday. And I thought of you.