Rain is Good

It's going to rain all day today. All day. And I'm supposed to be loading my van to leave for Maine.

Not much point in getting everything soggy, just to sit in my van for a two day drive to Maine. So today I'm going to share with you why Rain Is Good.

Rain can slow you down and give your brain and your body a breather. My husband usually gets up at 5 am and works outdoors everyday, but when his employer couldn't find enough indoor things for him to do, he sent him home several hours early. Tom's been working the past 22 days straight - with no time off - so this was a fabulous opportunity for him to wind down, get some extra sleep, and rejuvenate. Even better - he's in a cooking mood and has offered to make a good hot comfort-food lunch. Hurray for Rain!

Rain makes crops grow. Spring 2006 started early in this part of Michigan, and the warm weather enticed the farmers to plant early. But we didn't have much snow this past winter, so the fields are bone dry and nothing has sprouted. This rain has all the farmers smiling, because they know that this good soaking rain combined with the warm weather we've had will trigger all the crops to start. Within a week or so we'll have little green shoots of corn, soybeans and other good things beginning to show. It's early, but with good weather this summer, the fields will get a few extra weeks of growing time if they need it. All the better for farmers, who would like to have extra yield this summer to make up for last summer's somewhat dismal crops. Hurray for Rain!

Rain is making my perennials smile. I've transplanted a few, and others are just starting to pop their heads up. The past few weeks of unseasonably warm weather - 70 degrees in Michigan??? in April???? - got me itching to play in the dirt. I've been checking my peonies, which my husband accidently whacked to the ground last summer, not realizing they weren't weeds. The Bad News - he's not a gardener. To him, just about everything you can't eat is a weed and needs to be destroyed. The Good News - my decimated peonies are coming up strongly with plenty of buds, and even an errant-but-well-meaning husband with a love for man-toys like weed-whackers can't destroy a good peony. Hurray for Rain!

I love a good rain. The simple, continued resonance from an all-day soft rain seems to re-set my brain. Often it slows down my decision-making, bringing even better thought-processes and new ideas that I'd skipped earlier when life was a bit too hectic and I wasn't taking enough time to fully consider all options. I really do love a good rain.