Opportunity, not missed

It rained yesterday evening. It was a good hard rain, not just thready, dark clouds with a teasing sense of humor. It tried to begin that way, with some bluster and wind and it took a while to get its nerve up but it finally let loose and came down. It was pleasantly unexpected.

I was forty-five minutes into my gym class when I noticed the sky going dark. I wasn't overly concerned since that doesn't usually mean anything around here. I figured I could finish up the class and still make it out in time before (if anything) happened. I watched the window as I kept up with the instructor and noticed the wind had picked up. That was a true warning sign since once that happens it usually means its going to come down and quickly. I grabbed my bag and sped out of class. I had left the top down on the car and the rain was threatening big time now. Needless to say, I drove all the way home (top up) and not a single drop fell.

I had gotten well past my shower and dinner before I heard it actually start up. The rain. It was raining. You might not understand the allure of such a thing. It doesn't seem to happen all that often around here. We need it, probably more than other places, but we don't get it. It is almost spiritual when it happens. We will all sit on our stoops and watch. And that's what I did. I went outside and watched the rain come down. I breathed in all the flavor and smell and taste of it. It was threatening and peaceful and the ground swallowed it up in huge enormous gulps. I watched mesmerized, hypnotized by the streaks of wet slicing through the sky.

I didn't wait for it to stop before I went back inside. I could hear it in yet another way from my window. It sounded different. I couldn't see it the same way. It was muted and in the distance but still a presence you couldn't ignore. I didn't really want to ignore it. I'm not even sure when it stopped. Long after I had gone to bed I awoke to hear it again. It was really early morning but too early to get up. I realized I was parched and drank down more than half of the bottled water I keep handy as the rain pounded down. Sated, I snuggled back down in bed and let the rain lull me back to sleep for the short hour before I would need to get back up again. It was a tranquil way to slip back and away. It was a restful hour that blanked my mind, leaving it open to gather something new and fresh.

Doesn't life have such great ways to give me opportunities to see things again? I guess it's been doing it so long it knows all the different ways. I just need to keep paying attention.

TT