April Showers

From a song my dad used to play on his record player.  It’s an oldie, but a goodie:

Though April showers may come your way,
They bring the flowers that bloom in May.
So if it's raining, have no regrets,
Because it isn't raining rain, you know, (It's raining violets,)
And where you see clouds upon the hills,
You soon will see crowds of daffodils,
So keep on looking for a blue bird, And list'ning for his song,
Whenever April showers come along.

We don’t really get much rain in this part of the province, certainly nothing like what I grew up with in my little hometown on the coast.  Still, the rain always brings a sense of cleansing for me:  the air seems fresher and the dust gets washed away.  I am amazed at how much things will have grown in my garden, once I take the time to put on my gum boots and rain jacket and go check (or wait until things dry out and do it in shorts and flip flops).  Everything seems to perk up a bit more after the rain.  

Of course, this also means I will be fielding phone calls all afternoon from parents asking if we will be cancelling soccer today...because of the rain.  Geez, as a kid who grew up in a temperate coastal rainforest, I can tell you that we would have never gone outside if our activities—soccer, track and field, baseball, fishing, bike riding—had to be cancelled because of the rain.  We always seemed to have a just a little bit more fun in the rain.

In fact, I have a feeling that we might have one of the most fun-filled practices of the year tonight.  :)