Images: Rain

I pull open the car door and throw myself in, closing the door behind me as fast as I am able.  Taking a deep breath, I begin to untangle myself from my purse, my water bottle, my keys, all the while trying not to soak the interior of my car with the rain currently rolling off my jacket.  If there's one thing I hate, it's being slightly damp in a mostly dry space.  Once I settle in, I pause for a moment before putting the key in the ignition, watching the rain pelt against the windshield.  To be this close to the force of nature that defined my identity as an Oregonian, shaped my outdoor sport seasons, and informed my fashion choices for the first 18 years of my life but not be actually getting wet is a treat.  More than that- it's a bit of sacred space for me.  I watch the drops land one by one, then follow the path of a few down the windshield, all of them pooling together at the bottom.  The strange noise of the rain on the roof of my car, the window, the windshield- it's a bit of a wild sound, and yet, strangely comforting.  I feel at home here.  I feel at peace here.  This is the only area in my life where I can honestly say "The Lord giveth.  The Lord taketh away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord."  And mostly, I can say that because the rain will always come back, just to spite all of us spring and summer types.  But seriously, the sound, the smell, the sight of rain will always bring me back to long days of playing inside, lazy afternoons of napping under piles of blankets with a good book close at hand, tennis practices turned conditioning days due to huge puddles on the courts.  The feeling of peace that comes from knowing you can't change it so you might as well enjoy it.  The distinction of being emotionally connected to something most people view as a nuisance.  I turn the key in the ignition, and wait for that magic moment when you first turn on the windshield wipers.  Then I put the car in gear and drive home, swaying gently to the rhythms at hand- the rain on the car, the wipers on the rain, my heart at home.