Inspiration/Perspiration Fridays
It’s Raining Cats & Dogs Around Here
LaFitterina: It has been raining steadily here for hours and hours, which is something one should expect during our winter season, but which hasn’t happened for the last few years. Precipitation (or, if you will, Perspiration) is pouring down from the heavens. It seems that our wishes/prayers and rain dances have worked, and we have dodged another California drought.
I spent the morning out in the worst of the storm (naturally), trying to deflect the water away from the house, stapling a tarp to the back wall, and raking muck from the curb so there was a clear drainage path to the sewer down the street. I got soaked and felt quite cleansed/refreshed. It was inspirational to be out in the elements and reveling in nature’s sweat, working oh-so-hard but realizing how little I could do to counter-act the rainfall.
Running in the Rain is a Do!
Mizzfit: Thursday’s run was rather epic in that I was drenched within 5 minutes of stepping out the door – and the fun didn’t stop there. Running in the rain gives me a jolt of energy which I definitely needed to dodge large puddles and mucky piles of debris. My feet were wet very quickly and would get wetly warm squish squish, and then get a cold zing from another undodgeable puddle.
Coming from a country with recurring droughts my family loves the rain and celebrates it in myriads of ways – so an hour and a bit out in it was my love letter to the rain-filled clouds. The town’s water department crews were out declogging the storm drains in order to protect homes from the flash flood, and when talking to them I found they too loved the rain. I got to peek into the largest runoff creek/drain and it was at 4 feet high, what a rush to see all that surging swirling water headed out to the bay. 2 thumbs up for running in the rain! And wouldn’t it be remiss of me to not share a little Gene Kelly?
[Img.Src: Surging Waters]
I love that Gene Kelly scene, especially when he goes madly jumping with both feet in the puddles! I was indoors most of the rainy Thursday, with about 17 4th graders. One of them found a place in a gutter that was gushing, and he stood directly under it–he’s usually a very serious, slow to talk kind of guy, but he was beaming from the experience. But then some of the other students pointed out that he was actually swallowing the water, and he asked me if it was drinkable. Hmmm, I said–well the water comes streaming down the roof, clearing it of debris like leaves and all the bird droppings. A look of eugh spread over his face, and I calmly suggested he try drinking some tap water so that he could dilute what he ingested. But the news of bird droppings didn’t stop him–he would dash out there to get drenched whenever the opportunity arose–when I wasn’t looking. At the end of the day, when the kids were all heading for home and a few stragglers were left, there was a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see this same loveable guy drenched, beaming that he was soaked again. Bye, he said–and I just burst out laughing– I think he knew I celebrated his love for the rain.