Rain, at last

Yesterday the clouds broke open and dumped precious rain upon our parched state. For the past several months, Texas has been in a severe drought, and the consequences have been dire. A few farmers have been forced to sell off some of their land, and some ranchers have reduced the size of their cattle herds; as a result of this, the prices of meat and some produce have sky-rocketed in the supermarkets.

And so, the first tap-tap of the rain upon my tin roof sent me flying to the front door. Joyously, I flung open the heavy wooden door, and raised the window on the metal screen door. There's nothing like the smell of the earth during a rainfall. It's glorious scent wafted into the house and embraced me like an old familiar friend, whispering promises of growth and rebirth in my ear.

I felt a gentle tug at my shirt, and looking down saw my toddler at my side, gazing out the window of the storm door. "Hey, what's this?" he asked, pointing at the rain. Robert had never seen sheets of rain pouring from the sky.

"It's rain."

"Rain? What's it do?" I explained the rain was giving the earth a much needed drink, and now the plants and grass could grow again."

"Oh." Robert continued to look out the door thoughtfully. "The rain is falling very hard. I hope the earth has insurance."

Robert had been watching insurance commercials, that's why he was hoping the earth had insurance.

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What do you like to do on a rainy day? Here's my favorite things to do.

1. Watch old b&w movies
2. Bake homemade bread
3. Turn down the lights, light a candle, turn on jazz music, and settle back with a book while I'm enjoying the smell of the bread baking.
4. Soak in the tub, and sip on a glass of wine while listening to music