Rain, Rain ... Stay!

How many times, as a child, did you sing "Rain, rain, go away?"

Rain, rain, go away,
come again another day.
Little Johnny 
wants to play. 

Because I remember and can sing the tune so well, I think I must have sung it thousands of times. We replaced the name "Johnny" with my name, my brother's or sister's, and later, with my children's names. The song would come about when we endured a day or two more of rain and were feeling cooped up and wanted to be outside.

In retrospect, as Central Texas endures a debilitating drought, I would love to have the Mother Goose song be eliminated from pre-school and elementary school song lists, for Texas at least. While some areas of the country endure rainy weather for weeks and months at a time (May Gray and June Gloom in California), in the Austin area, we LOVE the rain. Sure, it was a downer on all those weekender events planned for Memorial Day weekend on the lake and in backyard pools, but alternatives to the rain exist.

As we attended an outdoor concert on Saturday night, attacked by a deluge of rain five minutes after we arrived, people adapted. The kids played in puddles and splashed around in the rain. The performers, just a couple out of about six, moved under the cabana and sang with just a guitar and a mike.

On Sunday, out on the lake, we hung out on the boat dock as the sprinkles came and went, and eventually moved the chips, bread and sandwich makings to the porch up the lawn. While we were on the lake, it rained for maybe ten minutes, but aren't boats and their passengers allowed to be wet?

Monday morning brought thunderstorms and rain, rain, rain until early afternoon. Perfect weather for sleeping in and taking care of indoor tasks, but it didn't keep my teenage daughter from participating in the wet skies and road and taking a run. With more rain in the forecast, we are rejoicing and willing to pull out our umbrellas.

I love watching the rain on the radar, as it approaches from the west, east, north or south. I take delight in the lightening and thunder, especially when it is dark outside. Rain is an ally, a partner, and a friend, that I do not want to go away,