I Can Stand The Rain
A good friend of mine text me one day and asked me what I was doing. I replied to her, “just watching the rain.” She then asked what do I think about when it’s raining. I paused for a moment and said “hmm, I’m not sure. Let me get back to you.”
That was months ago. And now so much rain has fallen.
When it rains, I think about all the moments nestled in my mind where rain was in the forecast.
One moment I can recall, was Hurricane Floyd. Hurricane Floyd devastated North Carolina around the time my family had just moved to NC. Needless to say I hated NC. Our den flooded. I remember being confined to the house with my family. It was one of the first times we were all really in a room with one another. Like really in the room. No TV. No radio. No “just waking up to open Christmas gifts.” It was just us, no power and the aftermath of the storm. We struggled to have conversation with one another. It broke my heart. It was in that moment I realized, I had no idea what family was. I knew the members and its components. But I didn’t know what it truly meant. My home wasn’t cold. But it wasn’t warm either. It was just, a roof over our heads.
Fast forward, the night I found out my parents were getting a divorce, it was raining. I remember just running back outside and sitting under a tree that I used to love to watch sway in the breeze. I cried. I wasn’t sad my parents were getting a divorce. I was sad because I never got to see them in love.
There was another night where I was driving in the rain to see my little raggedy boyfriend (because that’s what high school boyfriends are). I hydroplaned bad and hit a curb. I called my dad. He calmly talked me into getting my car in a better state. I went home.
I went on a cruise and visited St. Mar-teen.
It was very beautiful.
During our excursion, it began to rain. The citizen who was leading our tour, began to smile. He said, “ah, she doesn’t rain often. When she rains, it is good.”
I smiled. Then I begin to think of all the times I have associated rain with pain or anger. You probably have too. Rain cancels our plans, or makes running simple errands difficult. Or rain in its most devastating state comes in the form of a hurricane.
But here I was in a space where the rain was good. Rain meant replenish. Restore. Renew.
Now when it rains, and I find myself looking out the window, I think about my friend asking me what I think.
Now I can let her know that I think about something that I can replenish, restore or renew.
Practice Humanity. Exercise Grace.
-a.
