7.16.2007

what i've been aching for...

These summer months are really tough for me. The heat, the exhaustion, the unbearable fact that we are incapable of being outside for more than 30 minutes at a time without growing very weary of the triple digit temps...it all just weighs on me. My dear Asher seems to acquire some form of cabin fever...as do I...once we have nearly driven each other to madness each and every day. Today I was just talking to my sister Cory about how we exhausted our resources inside the house. We played outside at 7 in the morning...we cooked and ate breakfast...we built things from play dough...we lined up our bugs in a row...we listened to CD's of music and stories...we read books...we played with our bugs in the dishwasher...we finger painted...and then I think it was about 9 am. What were we supposed to do now???? There are just some days during the summer where all I want to do is....ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. So...today after complaining enough to her...she invited us over to do just that. Nothing but lie around on her couch...reading books, watching animal planet, eating Annie's mac and cheese and drinking chocolate milk (asher) and caffeine free coke (me). aaaaauuugggghhhhh...it was just what we needed on a Monday. And then... the perfection just kept on coming. After dinner...after putting Journey down to sleep...I felt the storm coming. Monsoon season is upon us.

It is so perfectly timed...this natural nourishment. It is always around this time of the summer season where I am literally crawling out of my skin...aching for moisture...longing for change...needing some kind of break in the miserable consistency of our "sunny and hot" forecast. I always think fondly of these storms...that cause every living thing in the valley to reach up to the skies with arms open. I was so eager for this one...and after laying Journey down for her slumber...I couldn't resist walking outside...feeling the drops of rain drenching my thirsty skin and feeding this kind of hunger that only comes from spending a summer in the valley. The storms come with such severe passion...they don't come gently. They come thundering and blowing with the same kind of ferocious intensity they were called forth with. They come with loud confidence in their importance. They are proud...courageous...and richly beautiful.

I managed to take these pictures while I danced in the rain and let the wind whip around me. I was really so elated to capture a few strikes of lightening...a first for me. They aren't anything profound...yet they really hold a moment for me. They speak of confidence and strength and certainty...and they are treasured pictures because of the experience of taking them. After being out there by myself for a length of time...I ventured inside to find Asher, who was, of course, so curious as to why I was so WET. I took him outside and convinced him to run in the rain with me. He wanted to show his bugs the rain...and so he put them all in their "house" and held them up to the sky..."SEE...rain!". Oh my sweet boy. I would still be out there with him if it weren't for the fact that he was desperately tired...and for my husband reminding me about the fact that our camera is indeed NOT waterproof. Oh yes. I guess a gal needs to come in from the rain eventually. I'm still just holding deep gratitude for the fact that I was OUT in the rain at all...and for the truth that in those moments when I was...I didn't want to be anywhere else in the world.

8 comments:

Debbie said...

You make us feel what you are feeling with your writing. You really are so talented. I am happy that your skin and soul were refreshed with the rain last night. Hope that feeling lasts for a little while for you. See you soon.

Jamie said...

I actually LOVE it here in the summer when it's 115 and I become literally exhausted from the heat getting from the front door of my office to the driver's side door of my car. I LOVE that dripping sweat feeling down my back and on my chest and the burn of sweat pouring into my eyes. How could you not love THAT?? :)
I, too, welcomed that rain with widely open arms and the booming cracks of thunder that sent Molly into a tail spin. I feel partially responsible for it since yesterday was the first time in months that I got my car washed! :)Oh, the sweet monsoons...bring on the rain!!
I'm jealous of your "lounge" day with Cory...maybe someday...

GG said...

Jessie, this blog is beautifully written! We got nothing more than a sprinkle and a little wind with a light addition of dust. No cracks of thunder or displays of lightning. It must have concentrated just on the east valley. But regardless, it was a change in the weather even here. I could smell the rain coming even though it really was an aborted attempt. But monsoons are always rife with promises and do not always deliver. But I love them too. I remember them as a child. At that time there was so much farm land surrounding Phoenix and the dust storms were a marvel. These were thick opaque gritty dust storms that obliterated vision. But I would stand on the front porch facing south of the big house we lived in and dance a jig so anxious for that thick dirt to hit me. And when it did I would jump off the porch and run with my arms windmilling in the wind trying to see if I could make it to the grocery story down the road before my eyeballs were sandblasted into oblivion. My good old dog always made it there before me and that was a comfort because I was really a bigger coward of these storms than I wanted anyone to know. And when the lightning caused our electrical system to fail and that big house was no longer shining like a beacon to a ship flailing on a storm tossed sea I was glad for my old dog's ability to lead me back to my darkened port in the storm. Safely home, my fears were minimized and I was in love with the storm all over again. We did not call them monsoons. That word had not been coined here yet. It was a famous word in India but not here. We just simply called them "storms". But I loved experiencing them every summer because they brought fear and exhiliration and victory (with the help of "old dog") into my life.

Louis Bromfield wrote a magnificent novel about the monsoons in India titled "The Rains Came". They later...around 1939...made it into a movie with the same name starring Tyrone Power, Myrna Loy, and Madame Maria Ouspenkaya. It was excellent. In fact all of this old memory stuff makes me want to see if I can get a copy of the movie. Your blog really jogged my memory back ito a delightful reverie of my childhood. It's been fun! Thanks, Jess. Love you for the trip! GG

daisies said...

oh so beautiful, both the writing and the photos :)

it has been so incredibly hot here, i too am longing for the cool lash of a raindrop ...

Simplicity Wins said...

I bet we were out dancing and singing in the rain at about the same time last night. It was fabulous. I did nto get more than a few drops at my house but I loved it just the same. Your pictures and writting is so amazing Jess, keep up the good work, you are oh so talented!

Sara said...

What great pictures. I too am at a loss of what to do after 9 or 10 in the morning. We are counting down the days when Griffin can go in the backyard and run instead of just looking out the window at the wasted space. We loved the rain last night too.

Nonnie said...

We noticed the impending monsoon with great anticipation too. And then found ourselves running out the arcadia door to grab the canopy that was being swept off its moorings and over the neighbors fence. I thought I might be a human kite holding onto it, until Bryan could grab it too! :)

Being a native Arizonan, I remember well the summer thunderstorm and rain while growing up. Everyone on the whole block (at least the kids anyway) would be out running in the rain, sitting in the rivers of water that ran down the street by the curb. It was beautiful, warm, refreshing rain. A time for a summer celebration!

I am looking forward to this monsoon season, and I think it's about time I go dance in the rain again. Thanks for the reminder and the pictures, Sass. :)

Anonymous said...

I too loved the pictures and was excited over the storm. Just be careful while doing your rain dance that you don't become a crispy critter! I've been suffering the dogs days of summer also - but just remember October is on the way and we will realize why we live here.