CLICK HERE FOR BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND MYSPACE LAYOUTS »

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Rain

To just say I love the rain doesn’t give my feelings justice. I feel an earthy, spiritual connection to rain. It replenishes my soul. I’m not sure when my connection began, although I can’t remember a time that I didn’t love the rain.

When I was younger I actually wished my name was Rain. Although Pat never shared my joy of the name, when we first thought I was having a girl I think I had him worn down enough to let me use it as a middle name for our daughter. It’s sad that was my biggest disappointment when the second ultra sound said I was having a boy, I didn’t get to name my little girl what I wanted.

I know some people think of rainy days as gloomy, depressing, disappointing. I don’t share any of those feelings. Rainy days make me feel comforted, cozy, protected, calm, content. The smell of an impending storm is like a shot of endorphins. There is also a very strong romantic attachment to rain which I can probably blame on watching too many movies such as Sense and Sensibility and First Knight.

This is a photo my brother-in-law Will took last summer. (You have to enlarge it to get the full effect, I think)



It was taken during a rainstorm in Kanab of my sister Keeley. I really wish photography was a talent I possessed and Will has taken many that I admire. I instantly connected to this photo the first time I saw it and it has been my home computer's wallpaper ever since. I’m sure some people will look at it and not feel anything, that’s the thing about art it touches everyone in a different way. When I look at this picture it somehow encompasses everything I love about the rain. I wish it was a mural on my bedroom wall because if I woke up to it every morning it would be a perfect start to the day.

One thing that I don’t like about my job is that it has made it so I do feel some regret when it rains March – October. The problem with rain during those months is that it negatively affects running outdoor sports. And you would not believe the reaction some parents have to being told that no, we are not canceling soccer because it is raining. So for that time of the year I would love for it to rain every Sunday, and leave the rest of the week clear. But that’s the only reason I would tell the rain to go away. Other wise, bring it on, and if there is some lighting and thunder thrown in, all the better for my enjoyment. Although even on those days of being yelled at or having my intelligence insulted, those feelings all wash away as I walk out to my car and feel those drops on my face. That's the thing about the rain, it just makes everything better.

6 comments:

kee said...

i love it too.
for me, it is also something that is very connected to thoughts of you. some of my love of rain i am sure came directly from that fact.
i wish you had been there on the day that that picture was taken. it was sunny and beautiful. we were sitting on our porch drawing/writing and then bamm! out of the literal blue a beautiful desert rainstorm came. we ran back and forth under the downpour coming off the house in the warm rain. i kept it up until i was completely completely drenched. i felt like a little kid.
it has this incredible purifying effect. in seattle it rarely truley rains, but when it does it almost magical it washes the city top to bottom.
the northwest is beautiful and green, but it's rain storms just cannot compare to the ones we have in utah.
i would have a very hard time being sympathetic with the soccor mom's. i absolutely love playing soccer in the rain. we had a few games that were really cold and extra hard to play due to the stuff, but man is it fun.
i hope this summer i get to play in the rain with you.

Anonymous said...

Amen, and bless you both for feeling that way! Rain is the ultimate bath. It cleans everything...the world, my car, my thoughts...It's spectacular. And, like you Kari...I'd be happy if it rained every weekend and then stopped when I had to drive to work in it just so that I could avoid the idiot drivers who don't understand and love the rain and so drive badly and cause accidents that influence other people badly, giving rain a bad name! Rain Rocks! More people should celebrate it!

Britta said...

I have such mixed feelings for rain. On the one hand, I love it too - thunderstorms are amazing and I've never been sorry to experience one. But on the other hand, it rains a LOT here in Harrisburg - it's not like when you live in Utah and the rain is so rare. And here it's almost never a thunderstorm, it's just never-ending rain. We even have days where you walk outside and you can feel the misty drops but can't see anything falling - the air is the rain.

I don't think it would bother me except that when you are a stay-at-home mom, it's frustrating to not be able to leave the house and extra-frustrating when you have to leave, and also lug a kid around in the rain, along with your groceries.

Kari said...

Well Britta I can probably say that maybe one of the reasons I love the rain so much is because it is something that doesn't happen every day. I would be a little sad if I couldn't regularly let Will run around in the yard during the spring. I still wish I could have one day a week of rain though.

Wade The Rascal said...

I also LOVE the rain and rain/lightning/thunder storms, especially on a summer night. And that truly is a remarkable photo. I really love it. To me, rain represents all of that which you said. It also makes me feel like everything is right with the world, that things will go on living and new life will begin. Amazing stuff, the rain.

will said...

thanks for the kind words :) that's one of the few pictures i've taken i would consider to be actually pretty good. it's hard to take photography seriously when the majority of what a person sees hanging on the wall as "art" is nothing of the sort in my opinion. not saying that any of mine are much better, but that's one of the few i'm really proud of.

still, i'll get to work on that wall sized mural.