Manic Monday: Shower

Yeah, I know it's not Monday. But to that, I say, Whateva!

1. Although I have been to a few baby showers in my years, last month, I attended the first one where the mother-to-be was not in attendance. Was she in the hospital having the little munchkin? Nope. She was stuck 9 hours away in the airport, where her flight had come in late, so she missed her connection. She stayed overnight with her family, all of them wearing the same clothes for two days, and caught a cab to the zoo!
We, at the shower, ate fruit kebabs and baby shower cake and talked the afternoon away.

2. I love rain! I do understand that it can get tiresome, but even when I lived with overcast skies (even if only in the mornings) for many days of the year, I still liked it. Yes, I was initially thrilled that the skies were overcast and peaceful, the rain was coming down making everything fresh and clean. I laughed and smiled and screamed, "hooray, it's raining!" After three straight weeks of that, though, I did find myself yearning for some sunshine. So, to you who think I don't appreciate a nice hot sunny day, I do love them too!!! (else I might not be living in sunny hot west TX)
My cousin, Clancy, was just asking for some sunshine for the summer, since they have had rain, rain, and more rain for summer break so far. Here, for you, is a dramatic reading of our exchange...okay, not really a reading...unless you read it dramatically out loud in front of your own computer, but the following really is a relation of our conversation, via facebook and blogs...
"As one who has sunshine for months now...I'm ordering you to enjoy your rain! You'll be sweltering soon enough. Breathe it, frolic in it, jump and dance in it! The sun will be there to stay very soon!"
"Hard to frolic and dance in rain when it's 50 degrees and raining, but I'll do my best! It was a pajama day today... except for about four hours, I was in my PJ's and reading all day."
[see...pj's almost all day...how can that be wrong?]
"50 degree rain just makes it more invigorating!!!!"
[and yeah, i was kidding...a little]
[and in reply to her 5 fabulous things about the rain, I said...]
"Plus...natural filter for amazing pics! Glad you enjoyed it in some kind of way! (I still say you could send it here and I would dance and laugh in it...and then I would read a book on the patio and listen to it and breath it!!)"
You see, I love it! I love the way it makes me look at the world and the way it makes me feel! I love it's look and feel and the smell is euphoric!
(and in her defense, she loves it too, but would like just a tad bit of sun to play in in the summer, don't we all!)
My parents helped instill the love of a good thunderstorm. With my mom, we would sit at the front door with blankets on and jabber the storm away. After it let up a bit, we got to play in the gutters! Yeah, sounds gross, but it was beyond fun! We just ran up and down the street splashing in the rain puddles and gutters to our hearts content. That is a joy that makes my heart do flips!
My dad loved any and all nature, so rain or shine, our camping trips rocked! My sister, Sibyl, recently put "Smell of Rain on Sagebrush and Juniper" on one of her 5 favorite smells on facebook, and I can't help but think of those camping trips where we woke in the morning to bacon cooking in a cast iron skillet over a campfire that had been burning for an hour, built by my dad who had already been up for two or three hours, and hiked around and went fishing, all in the rain.
My parents are amazing!
(and showers are great!!)