Rain has always been something close to me, and I think that there are numerous things to attribute that to. The rain banging on the hood during long car rides on my way to my Dad’s house in his 99′ New Beetle, observing the puddles in parking lots and roads when rain fell and how they indicated the minor yet noticeable variation in elevation, and the classic looking out the window during a storm and watching the rain violently hit the ground. Sure, these are all things I remember, but I can’t pick out a specific memory of me experiencing these events happening and be like “ah yes, this is amazing”. I can say for a fact that what keeps me and rain’s relationship very close is when my house – and only my house – had a sunshower.
It was on a weekday back in my old Bayport house, I know this since my Dad was still at work. My brothers and I were helping our mother with different outside chores, as she was busy doing maintenance on a huge tree we had in the backyard and miscellaneous things pertaining to the backhouse. It was a clear day, the sun left not a spot our plot in shadows… is what we thought. All of the sudden, raindrops came down from the sky, dancing on the warm pavement and feeding the local plant life, all the while the sky stayed as clear as it had been prior. My younger brother and I are in awe as we look out to the street and see not a drop on the road. For a good half an hour, 260 Connetquot Road had it’s own personally sunshower, free of charge. Of course, in such a rare situation like this, there was only one thing that my younger brother and I could do: throw on our bathing suits, get a bucket and some soap, and take a shower with the rain! My older brother wasn’t too interested in the idea, perhaps he was at a friend’s house during it or just went inside, I personally can’t remember, but for that half an hour, my little brother and I danced in unison with the rain droplets, learning ritualistic dances of soap and water, with our little feet slightly burning up on the still-hot pavement. After the rain taught us all that we needed to know, it took its cloud and moved on, bringing the sunshower to our neighbors. Now our mother still made us take showers inside after we “showered” in the rain, but I think my everlasting love for the feeling, sounds, and rhythm of rain can be fully blamed on the dances that they taught me and the fun they brought me during my own little sunshower.
Picture of my old house; We danced with the rain on that area of the driveway to the right where the half-donut extends to the backyard.
Colin, I loved reading this. It honestly just brought me great joy because that’s something I would have done with my sisters growing up. That’s a really cute story and the fact that you remembered all those little details shows how much it meant to you. I want my own personal sun shower! I also do embrace and enjoy the rain as well, just like you. I love the pounding of the rain on the hood of cars, watching pouring rain outside the window during a storm, and the CLASSIC act of watching a raindrop slowly makes it way down the window. It was always so mesmerizing. Although I haven’t done it in a while, my all time favorite thing to do is to stand outside in the heavy rainfall. I like to close my eyes, put my arms out and up, raise my head to face the sky, and just feel the impact of the natural world around me. It probably sounds ridiculous, but it’s just a special sensation, so purifying and fresh.
What a wonderful memory, Colin. Great story.