Friday, January 22, 2010

*glug glug* the return of el nino to arizona

Since Monday it has been raining off and on, causing a slurry of accidents and small time floods, many a change of clothing and socks, and all together change in habit and temperament around these parts. The rare inch upon inch of rain has hit the state, threatening the closure of school due to impassable streets and soaked schoolyards.

Generally, I love the rain, but I absolutely detest driving in it; I mean I border on having an actual phobia of driving under wet conditions. I end up staying around 8-10 car lengths behind the vehicle in front of me. I clench that steering wheel and hardly dare to even look away from the road long enough to check my rear-view mirror. I don't breathe easy again until I am back safe and sound in my own garage.

Good things about this lovely change of climate for us desert dwellers include the nice cool temperature, the wonderful smell, the fresh and clean feel of everything from our landscapes to our roads to just the general atmosphere, and of course, a good healthy dose of drink for all flora and fauna indigenous to this Valley of the Sweat.

Stereotypically, I love to curl up with my fleecy blanket (secretly I yearn for a Snugglie--but was too embarassed to ask for one when by chance I overheard a conversation behind me in line at the Wal-Marts one weekend about how the Snugglie is just a backwards bathrobe! I wanted to disagree so badly! It's larger, comfier, cozier, and in all other ways better than just a plain old bathrobe...right?) and a book. As you all know I've been doing a lot of reading lately and this change of weather lends itself perfectly to a good read-a-thon.

As a result of constantly having cold and wet tootsies (my children can NOT stay indoors during weather like this...they must investigate!) I have been making lots of warm meals (fajitas in the crock-pot tonight) and cup after cup of warm cocoa. I tend to stick to the 25 calorie stuff but then I add more water, raw cocoa, and a serving of splenda to make it a bit yummier.

The storm clouds and precipitation will make their way through our parched state and we will once again be left with dry, hopefully not-so-thirsty terrain. We'll remember that we like the sun and that we live here for a reason. We'll happily return to the park and ride our bikes and in all other ways enjoy our relatively warm winters in Phoenix. (Some of us were still wearing shorts and short-sleeves just last week!) We'll thank Heavenly Father for feeding our plants and refreshing our land and be grateful that we have very few, if any, risks of natural disaster in this lovely state of ours. Our thoughts and prayers go to those suffering in Haiti right now, to those others who have suffered from tsunamis and hurricanes, blizzards and tornadoes, mudslides and fires in other parts of this earth.

I had a disappointing day today (nothing so interesting as to deserve a post on my blog) but as I was driving home, knuckles white, listening to the radio about Haiti, I had some perspective and realized I needed to be grateful for our beautiful weather, our health and safety, and the beauty that is God's Nature.



(And happy birthday to my dear friend Christine!)

8 comments:

Christine said...

This weather made my heart so happy and ache for CA all at the same time. I'll drive you in the rain any day :). And Thanks for the birthday wish!!!!

Anonymous said...

I love driving in the rain! It's so relaxing for me.....

And I don't know about y'all, but I started to build an ark in the garage.......

B

Mark and Jessica said...

I wish I could have taken a picture of the main entrance to our neighborhood - it was a complete lake! You couldn't even see the sidwalks and the main road close by was an actual river. CRAZY!! We're suppossed to be getting more - and will watch for that river again :)

Jennifer said...

I'm hoping all this rain means we're going to have really pretty wildflowers this year. I am getting tired of the grey skies though!

Jenna said...

oh my, I really want some hot cocoa right now

Margee' said...

Wow! I heard about all of your rain on the news, dry up here in the Northwest, very unusual for us!
Everything will turn very green down your way. We're still winter brown, can't wait for Spring and some green up here. then summer will arrive and brown again.

Dahlene said...

I heard about all the natural lakes surrounding the valley this week! What fun. The fajitas and cocoa look scrumptious!

jinxi~ aka angi said...

Whoa.. that is some rain! I hadnt heard much about the rains {yes living under a rock} until my Mom called me when they reached their home in Mesa. She told me they were experiencing some major winds! I called Dad and he said he isnt having as much fun this winter there as usual because of the rain.. but he still loves it there. And you are right.. we are so blessed even if we have playgrounds and back yards full of water for a period of time. :)