Thursday, June 26, 2008

It Happened Last Night...

...the event all desert dwellers wait for.


A strange phenomena happens here when the temperatures never gets below 100, and land is especially parched.

Desert dwellers begin to dream of rain and moisture. Relief. We talk about it. Dream about it. Live for it.

It happened last night. After the sun had set, and the evening darker than usual.

The big clouds came that billow and tease. Often it's so dry that you can see rain falling but it evaporates before it hits the ground, teasing us with the delicious smell that comes from moisture in the desert. Not last night.

We watched the lightening as a little squall rolled in from south. It's a show I have never seen else where. Lightening that doesn't just strike from sky to ground, but plays in the clouds like children on sugar.

The wind started to kick up with a cool, comforting, feel.

We piled in the car and got some ice cream. Then we went to our local park, where the kids ran around as if they had never been outside.

The Boy, who is a country boy at heart, ran around with his hands in the air, catching large droplets of water on his face and saying, "I'm actually COLD! I'm actually COLD!"

The Girl got back into the car. Lightening, even when it still far away can be scary when you're eight.  I know, I remember.

On the other side of the park stand the baseball fields, lit up by giant flood lights. The rain, began to fall heavily on that side of the park. We could see the rain drops shining under the lights. We remained dry.

The Mister said, "Here it comes."

And two minutes later, it was raining on us. 

And then...

...then we just sat there in the car and watch the wonder of monsoon. 

The beauty of water in the desert.

Y'all, it made me happy. Which is saying something, cuz I'm already a pretty happy girl.

What makes you happy today?


Because I provided water in the desert, 
   rivers through the sun-baked earth,
Isaiah 43:20 (MSG)


10 comments:

Rae said...

How I love this post! It is such a good reminder to never take anything for granted!

Moriah @ Please Pass the Salt said...

Two of my mom's sisters and their families live in AZ. I know exactly what you mean - it's almost downright shocking to get some rain!

mer@lifeat7000feet said...

Beautiful post! I am so happy for the rain that came your way.

I'm happy right now that my girls are still sleeping and my son just made his own breakfast. It's the little things, right??

Lindsay said...

I love a good rain storm! The summer storms are always so fun. They come in fast but they dont last real long. Glad you got to enjoy that rain!

Jackie said...

Oh, you described this so perfectly! There's nothing like that monsoon rain when you have been waiting all summer for it. I love thunderstorms...the more lightning, the better....so reading this was awesome.

I am happy today because I just found got 3 pounds of nectarines for 99 cents. Love a good deal!

The Buntens said...

Reading your blog makes me happy!

That is a great account of the rain coming in. I felt like I was there! Very cool.

Tiffani said...

Can I just say, being a former elementary school teacher and creative writing teacher, that I LOVE this post!! I love me a good similie ;) So, I'm sure your teachers would be proud of you...plus, it was just plan wonderful to read...

I'm happy today because I slept really good last night and my headache went away...

have a wonderful day, Kellie!

Megan O. said...

You wrote this so beautifully--it actually gave me chills because I could picture it all exactly. I'm jealous though. All we got here last night was the smell of rain, I was waiting for it and it never happened.

Melissa Lester said...

Beautiful post! I love the rain, too, and we definitely need it in our area of Alabama. While visiting my sister this week in Tennessee, I am loving her baby's milky breath and kissable cheeks!

Ali said...

Great post! Right now I'm loving dreaming about different patio designs. It will take a couple of years to save up, but I'm lovin' the daydreams.