Waiting

While going about my afternoon, I’m keeping an ear out and every so often peeking out the kitchen window…

There is some rain forecast for today and I’m waiting. Anxiously anticipating rain. What bitter sweet pleasure it is to wait for rain.

I have lived most of my life within one hour of the east coast. So I am still surprised by the long patches of dry weather in these parts, especially during this long and terrible drought. Waiting for rain is something of a whole body experience here. We are not farmers and we are only new here. Nevertheless, I find myself – my mind, body and spirit, all somehow in unison, aching for this forecast rain.

On the coast, when rain is predicted I experienced no such thing. Rain is common enough that predicted rain is hardly something to awaken nervous anticipation. Closer to the coast, cloudy days without rain are common place and predictions are far less reliable; weather comes and goes in a constant ever changing drama.

Out here, the weather is ever so stable. Its blue sky, followed by blue sky, followed by more blue sky with a constancy I find reassuring. (Comes in handy with respect to being able to reliably dry laundry too!)

And, out here, when rain is predicted, you know without a doubt that rain is coming, as it is tonight. As I write, I am watching gorgeous deep blue grey clouds emerging on the horizon, gathering overhead with surprising speed and evidently full to the brim of the very thing we so desperately need – rain.

Out here when rain is predicted it more reliably comes. Well, at least comes near. The predicted rain does come but it is somewhat fickle, falling as it pleases in a patchy, haphazard fashion such that, even though you may be staring straight up at the darkest rain clouds you’ll ever see,  until those raindrops actually start to fall, you’re never quite sure if it is going fall on your specific patch of dirt – it just as likely might just swing right on by and miss you altogether!

As it does indeed tonight.

And such is the humbling experience of living in a place where it is all the more bleeding obvious that we live in deep dependance on things beyond our control.