History Lesson

When I moved from the East Coast to Southern California lo those many years ago, there was a popular song that boasted ~ "It never rains in sunny California." Believing those lyrics to be true, I sold my umbrella and rain coat at my I'm-moving-out-of-town garage sale. Dumb, I know.

So imagine my surprise and chagrin when my very first winter in California was deluged with rain ~ AND people were actually happy about it! Unbeknown to me, California had been experiencing a three-year drought and the clouds had finally opened to release their precious liquid. It didn't just rain. It rained SIDEWAYS down the street in torrents. I couldn't take it. Drought or no drought, I moved to California to get AWAY from yucky weather.

I remember very vividly that after days and days of rain, my husband and I got in our car and started driving east. We didn't stop until we literally reached the edge of the clouds where sunshine was abundant ~ about 60 miles away. We pulled off the road, jumped out of the car, threw down a blanket and sunbathed. Ah, it was glorious!

So here I am, too many years to count later, still living in California ~ Northern California. Now I know that northern doesn't have the same warm, sunny reputation as southern, but it's STILL California and the weather is pretty darn nice. Except in El Nino years.

Now don't get me wrong. Generally I greet our winter rain with enthusiasm knowing it fills our reservoirs, is good for plants and covers the ski resorts in snow. However, my enthusiasm dampens when it rains day after day after day after day after ~ well, you get the picture. It's not the wetness I mind. It's the GRAY. Dreary, gloomy, depressing gray.

However, I'm trying to squelch my displeasure with the abundant rain knowing that we have been in a multiple-year drought and this precious liquid really is a wonderful gift from God. (Bonus: the skiing conditions have been marvelous!)