When it rains

A road becomes a river

I love a good rainy day. There's something peaceful about being inside while listening to the rain, or walking in the rain with an umbrella as the water rushes around you. Here on Clove Island it's rainy season right now, that season where the clouds close in for days at a time (a welcome break from the broiling sun), bringing rainstorms, thunder and lightning. The rain has a way of changing things though.

Societal obligations change when it's raining. It's not uncommon for someone to call and say that the rain has "closed them in" so they won't make it to whatever had been planned for a particular hour. Classes continue, but sometimes the timing of a rainstorm can cause half the class to skip or be late.

Social visits are timed around the rain. And sometimes people get stuck places. The visitor that was just dropping by will instead stay for a couple of hours, eating with you, taking a nap, and just waiting for the rain to stop. I carry an umbrella, but even I sometimes wait for the rain to slow a little before heading out the door again.

And as long as you're at home, if the rain comes, you know it will be quiet there for awhile. So rainy days are a good time to get projects done with fewer people interruptions.

Of course, sometimes the rain causes real problems. There was one time I came home from class during a cyclone to discover that the rain had washed into my house and was puddling in the center of the living room. Or like this current house, where there's a bit of a leak in the kitchen ceiling, so a heavy rain means we get water dripping into one part of the room.

And when the rain stops, the sun comes out and it's roasting hot, and everything starts to mold. I've had the pillow next to me on my bed mold overnight, clothes in my closet mold, belts and bags and shoes... even my ceiling has molded.

But I still love the rain. Good luck getting that to change!