© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved. I wrote the following piece in 2009, one morning that began ten days of rain just before the start of hurricane season:
This spring I have been home every day and have been much more conscious of the rainfall, or lack of it. That is common in this area of Florida in the spring. I guess God is making us thirst for the wet season even with possibility of hurricanes. Having lived in Florida for 26 years I have come to face the June to November months with a certain amount of trepidation. I want rain and I don’t mind thunderstorms and such. But I live with a little fear of the “big one.” It’s probably like the folks in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Kansas who welcome gentle breezes that ease the summer heat, but would pass on the violent winds that come with the tornado season.
We live in a small home and our yard has pavers and plants and all kinds of flowers instead of grass. My wife loves to work in the garden, taking great pride in it and uses it to express another aspect of her creativity. She is constantly being stopped by people driving by, or walking through the neighborhood, and remarking about how beautiful the flowers look.
This year it looks better than ever but because of her limitations, I have been dragged into the effort to keep it up to her standard. That has not been easy with the lack of rainfall and the heat that usually waits for summer. Each evening I look longingly at the eastern horizon hoping to see developing thunderheads. But even with dark clouds approaching there is no guarantee of relief. Around here scattered showers can be so aggravating. Sometimes it seems as if the clouds know how to tease, dropping a heavy dose of the cool liquid just a block or two from the house.
I sit here writing this today, occasionally glancing up at the glass door looking out on the patio. The sky is gray, a light rain is falling, the pavers are darker than usual and even little puddles are forming. And it is still morning. We have been “graced” with rain today. Early. So that I don’t have to wait all day, hoping that I’ll be spared the temptation to fudge on the water restrictions.
And do you know what? The rainy season doesn’t begin for another two weeks. I have seen it be dry as a bone and then June 1 there will be a downpour. This year I especially feel “Graced by Rain.”
© 2009, John C. Fitts, III. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 7 (2009).
This spring I have been home every day and have been much more conscious of the rainfall, or lack of it. That is common in this area of Florida in the spring. I guess God is making us thirst for the wet season even with possibility of hurricanes. Having lived in Florida for 26 years I have come to face the June to November months with a certain amount of trepidation. I want rain and I don’t mind thunderstorms and such. But I live with a little fear of the “big one.” It’s probably like the folks in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Kansas who welcome gentle breezes that ease the summer heat, but would pass on the violent winds that come with the tornado season.
We live in a small home and our yard has pavers and plants and all kinds of flowers instead of grass. My wife loves to work in the garden, taking great pride in it and uses it to express another aspect of her creativity. She is constantly being stopped by people driving by, or walking through the neighborhood, and remarking about how beautiful the flowers look.
This year it looks better than ever but because of her limitations, I have been dragged into the effort to keep it up to her standard. That has not been easy with the lack of rainfall and the heat that usually waits for summer. Each evening I look longingly at the eastern horizon hoping to see developing thunderheads. But even with dark clouds approaching there is no guarantee of relief. Around here scattered showers can be so aggravating. Sometimes it seems as if the clouds know how to tease, dropping a heavy dose of the cool liquid just a block or two from the house.
I sit here writing this today, occasionally glancing up at the glass door looking out on the patio. The sky is gray, a light rain is falling, the pavers are darker than usual and even little puddles are forming. And it is still morning. We have been “graced” with rain today. Early. So that I don’t have to wait all day, hoping that I’ll be spared the temptation to fudge on the water restrictions.
And do you know what? The rainy season doesn’t begin for another two weeks. I have seen it be dry as a bone and then June 1 there will be a downpour. This year I especially feel “Graced by Rain.”
© 2009, John C. Fitts, III. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 7 (2009).
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