Rain

It's finally raining. Here in the Pacific Northwest we take pride in our rain and have 126 distinct terms for it, like the Native Alaskans (the People Formerly Known as Eskimos) are said to have about snow. There's that kind of rain that just makes your filthy windshield all sludgy, and the kind of rain that makes the gutters overflow, and the kind of rain that drives away evil spirits, and the rain that makes the babies cry, etc. I for one am delighted to see some rain after a record three thousand days (more or less) of constant, unrelenting sunshine. Our lawn is all dried up and I'm so accustomed to being able to walk around in capri pants and gauzy little t-shirts from Target that I feel I'm close to losing my edge. The moss behind my knees is all crunchy and uncomfortable. It's unnatural, in short.

So this morning it was gloriously cool and gray outside, a bit breezy like it gets when a storm is a-brewing, and it was such sweet relief to say out loud, You know, it looks like it's going to rain.
And later that morning it did, hard rain that falls sideways and makes you run for cover in the parking lot.

In the late afternoon another front blew in and we were treated to not just torrential rain but thunder and lightning, loud boomy rumbly lightning that went on forever and made the house shake. Delia had never experienced thunder before. The first crack was not too severe but made her come running from the front room to find us lolling around on the bed, where we were shamelessly playing with the kitten in broad daylight. "Mama? Mama! Mama!" She was not panicking but close to it. So we all sat on the bed (well, Delia bounced around and hooted more than sat, really) and when another peal of thunder came along it must have been right over the house because it really vibrated the walls. Delia just froze and her eyes got big and her face got a little distressed looking, and she threw herself at me. This happened a few times and although she seemed reassured when we told her that it was just loud noise and it couldn't hurt her, she still hastened to me each time.

Once the storm's leading edge had passed over the rain really came down in sheets and when the worst of it was over we got Delia all gussied up in her yellow rain slicker, her pink kittycat rain boots and her matching pink kittycat umbrella with ears (a gift from her indulgent GrampetuaMa) and I accompanied her outside to splash in the gutters until the rainwater drained away. It was idyllic and I only wish we'd gotten a photo or two. As compensation for this terrible oversight I offer the following photo of Her Majesty engaged in real, actual conversation with our dear friend Graham up in Juneau. She really pulled out all the stops and gabbled to him incomprehensibly for what must have seemed like hours to him. In reality perhaps two minutes or less. I spent the time usefully by bolting up the hall for the camera. Note the fading but still visible Sharpie pen marks on her arms. Did I mention she can push a chair up to the kitchen counter now?


I also include one from a few weeks ago when we headed south for a birthday party for one of J's neices, Shelby, who turned three. Early in the day the kids had played in the water at the park, and now it was time for some serious dirt. Delia and her cousin Josie were like baby birds taking a dust bath... Josie got the worst of it but I don't want to post her photo without getting permission so here's one of Delia.