<\/p>\n
This morning I stepped out the door and was immediately greeted by the song of the stream a quarter of a mile away.\u00a0 <\/span>This wasn\u2019t a merry trickle, this was a song of full-on, operatic proportions!\u00a0 <\/span>This was a siren\u2019s song calling me to investigate.<\/p>\n I walked excitedly toward the stream.\u00a0 <\/span>It was swollen for sure, but not flooding.\u00a0 <\/span>It was turbulently, joyously, rapturously tumbling, rushing, racing down the mountainside.\u00a0 <\/span>It was clear, it was fast, it was strong.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Everything smelled gloriously fresh and clean.\u00a0 <\/span>The colors were bright, all signs of dust and drabness washed away.\u00a0 <\/span>Vibrant green moss had grown and white and orange mushrooms had sprouted.<\/p>\n We had been visited by Rain!\u00a0 <\/span>Lots of glorious, life-giving Rain!\u00a0 <\/span>Blessedly, graciously we had been gifted with an abundance of moisture, and just the right amount.\u00a0 <\/span>Unlike our unfortunate neighbors four to six hours to the north who were dealing with major flooding, the rain spirits were kind to us.\u00a0 <\/span>And while I am concerned for the plight of my fellow Coloradans and send them fervent wishes for drier weather, I will not be afraid of or embarrassed by the richness of rain we have been given.\u00a0 <\/span>We need it.<\/p>\n I revel in the moisture.\u00a0 <\/span>I glory in the stream.\u00a0 <\/span>I cannot understand some of the friends, neighbors, and clerks I\u2019ve encountered during the last few days who have had the audacity to complain about the rain.\u00a0 <\/span>Don\u2019t they realize we live in a desert<\/i>???\u00a0 <\/span>Don\u2019t they know that our aquifer is at record low levels?\u00a0 <\/span>Don\u2019t they understand that pure water is the lifeblood of this planet? The plants need it, the animals need it, our crops need it, we<\/i> need it.<\/p>\n Until one has lived through a drought, until one has lived in a desert, until one has been unbearably thirsty or oppressively hot or disgustingly dirty, one can never fully appreciate the blessing and the incredible gift of Rain.<\/p>\n I do.\u00a0 <\/span>I hereby cancel out every single complaint lodged about wet weather.\u00a0 <\/span>I celebrate this rain.\u00a0 <\/span>This rain means I will have enough water to drink for the next year.\u00a0 <\/span>It means I can take showers when I feel dirty.\u00a0 <\/span>I can wash clothes.\u00a0 <\/span>I can admire the flowers.\u00a0 <\/span>I can breathe the fragrant oxygen that the trees gift me.<\/p>\n Rain, beautiful Rain, I honor you.<\/p>\n Thank you, thank you, thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This morning I stepped out the door and was immediately greeted by the song of the stream a quarter of a mile away.\u00a0 This wasn\u2019t a merry trickle, this was a song of full-on, operatic proportions!\u00a0 This was a siren\u2019s song calling me to investigate. I walked excitedly toward the stream.\u00a0 It was swollen for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":553,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[336,3,145,2,334,5,255,195,335],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aquifer","category-blessings","category-flood","category-gratitude","category-moisture","category-rain","category-storms","category-stream","category-thirst"],"yoast_head":"\n