by Julia Anderson
There’s nothing like a drought to make you apricate the miracle that is rain.
There’s nothing like a drought to make you apricate the miracle that is rain. And drought is becoming more and more frequent in my little corner of the world. We’ve had years where it was so dry it barely sprinkled a few times during what should have been the rainy season. Years where rain becomes a rare treat instead of something you can rely on. And all of the irreplaceable sights and smells and sounds of rain are just gone. Instead, the ground is baked halfway to terracotta and the smell of dry dirt lingers in the air along with the smog. You tell yourself it has to rain, eventually. Logically it must. But then you think about the places it never rains. Like that desert in Chile you’ve heard is one of the driest places in the world. And Antarctica which is apparently, technically, a desert. And you can’t help but think, what if it doesn’t rain?
I’m always thrilled, and a little relieved, when we get the first real rain after a dry spell. I can never resist setting aside whatever it is I’m supposed to be doing to enjoy it as much as possible. I’ll go out to the front porch and just watch the rain fall, soaking into the dry earth, freckling the pavement until the entire surface is wet. I listen to the drops splashing into newly formed puddles and drumming on the roofs of cars. I smell the ozone and the water in the air and give into the urge to reach out from under the roof of the porch and wiggle my fingers in the falling droplets. Just until I’m reassured that it really is raining and my fears that it would never rain again have been disproven. At least for now.
© Julia Anderson
A Southern California native and recent California State University, Los Angeles alum, Julia Anderson (she/her) enjoys astrology, baking, cats and the written word in all its forms.
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