Dancing In The Rain

As I made my morning rounds today reading the posts of some of my favorite blog friends, I came across one at Drunk With Barley that drew me back into years long past. That and the fact that we will be experiencing a warm spell today and have rain for most of the day. With this bit of inspiration, I thought I would take you on a journey down memory lane.

My childhood was a mix of good and bad memories. The bad ones I have spent most of my lifetime burying and trying to forget. While I was busy doing that, many of the good memories have been buried along with them. It really wasn't until I started creating web pages (1998) and more recently as a blogger that I began the process of trying to remember the really good things that were buried so deep in my memory. At first there was a great deal of fear that along with these good memories might come those bad ones that I would just as soon leave where they are. I am still a work in progress. How is that statement for a woman that will be celebrating her 59th year in a few months? I have learned to deal with all memories, good and bad alike, and have even come to a point in my life where I am able to celebrate the fact that what happened in my past is what has helped to mold me into the person that I am today.

Thoughts and visions of rain takes me back to a time when life was carefree. No real responsibilities other than the few chores that my mother gave me to do. I call them chores now, but they were treats to me then. The freshly washed and dried clothes. A Pepsi bottle filled with water with a cork shaker on the top that was used to sprinkle the clothes and ready them for ironing. It always made me wonder why my mother went to the trouble of drying the clothes just to get them wet again. I loved it though when I was given the job of sprinkling those clothes. As I turned the Pepsi bottle upside down and helped the water sprinkle on to the clothes it reminded me of rain.

I was in Heaven when we had summer rains without the thunder and lightening. Rains such as that found me outside barefoot and dancing in circles being soaked from head to toe. With head tilted back and looking toward the Heavenly sky filled with rain clouds, I delighted in the feeling of the wet drops of water falling on my face. Everything seemed heightened following the rain. The colors of nature were always brighter. The smells of nature were sweeter. Everything was cleaner and fresher than before the rain. As a child I was aware of these things. As an adult I have grown to appreciate them even more.

Of course I was never allowed to be out in the rain when there was thunder and lightening present, but I was still attracted to those rain storms just the same. I can recall the excitement that built up inside of me with the approach of such a storm. I still enjoy the feeling of the wind that precedes the rain, blowing my hair back and how it feels against my face. I am always amazed at how I can actually feel the moisture of the rain in the wind before the rain actually gets here. I have never been one to go and hide from the storms, just years of training from my mother to seek safety and watch from a distance. If only I had seen the parallel to that and life years ago.

As I said earlier, I celebrate 59 years of life this year. When you reach that milestone you start putting things in order, in your mind anyway. I wrote a post with my 'Bucket List' not long ago. One thing that I need to add to that list is I want to dance in the rain with my Dear Husband and also teach my grandchildren how to dance in the rain, but also to seek safety from the storms and watch from a distance.

Have a blessed day. A special thank you to David for sparking this memory for me.