Rainy Days and Mondays..

I woke up this morning to the sound of the rain.

Glorious, refreshing, cleansing, deliciously wet….. rain.

What a great sound. What a great way to start the day. What a great way to start the week. It’s Monday and it’s raining. Life is beautiful!

Coming from the Midwest raised on a farm, rain always brought good things. Good moods. Good cool refreshment for the thirsty crops. A good break from work for my dad. A good time inside with the whole family. A do nothing kind of day with people that you love to be with. A chance to read in your room listening to the rain on the roof, watching the drops trace their path down the big farmhouse windows; mesmerized in the sights and sounds and getting lost in the imagination of youth. Good sweet times…

Then moving to Arizona, where the sun dominates the calendar and doesn’t know how to share, the sights and sounds of rain are precious gifts to our eyes and ears. The brown colors of the southwest landscape take on enriched depths to their rugged dry beauty. The moist smells of the cacti, desert sage, and mesquite permeate the air with a perfumed scent that only Arizonans can fully appreciate. We breathe in that fragrance like an intoxicating drug. The birds frolic in the wetness, their colors more vibrant. The people frolic in their souls, feeling more alive. We savor the temporary splendor of the rain.

Simple. Beautiful. Blessed. Fragrant. Rain.

So, it’s no wonder that when I dreamily was aroused from my sleep this morning to the sweet sound of rain on the roof, I jumped out of bed just to open the doors and gaze in disbelief at the raw wet beauty and the gift of the rain.

It’s no wonder that I sit here, gazing out my window, watching this glorious rain fall steadily through the pines, sipping my first cup of coffee of the morning, and feel nothing but pure, sweet joy.

It’s no wonder that I love it so much.

It’s no wonder that I know, without a doubt, that today is going to be a good day.

It’s no wonder that the sounds, smells, and sights bring old memories from the recesses of my soul to the forefront of my mind. To warm my heart and bask in remembering.

It’s no wonder that it moves me to write.

It’s no wonder that I want to go out and dance in the rain, because my thirsty soul already is.

Twirling. Jumping. Soulful. Expressive. Arms raised type of dancing.

It’s a beautiful thing to see – this happy wet, smiling, dancing soul of mine.

Unlike the song by the Carpenters those many years ago….

Rainy Days and Mondays do not get me down….it’s anything but that.

Happy glorious, rainy, smiling Monday everyone!

Simply yours,

K