"I Love the Rain, inspired by Brian Nolan" sent in by "Bluestocking"

How I long for rain... to hear the the soft 'ping' of the first drops on my wrought iron roof, and to wait, straining to hear, wondering if it will build to a satisfying crescendo,worrying that it might be a tease, like it has so many times before....It is just on dawn and I am alert, woken by my subconscious, that is always on guard,straining to hear a raindrop fall.

But no, no tease this time..there it is, splashing against the roof, and while I am still smiling my approval, it builds in volume and crashes with fury against the weatherboards on the outside of the house, and pours into the open window above my head ,onto my face, my pillows, and bed..I gasp with shock as the water hits my grinning face, hungry for rain these past 100 rainless days....oh the bliss is indescribable!

Too soon, I have to close the window to protect the bed from a thorough soaking, but I make my way to the deck that leads into the garden, and there I sit, drawing in deep breaths of the earthy aroma of water soaking parched soil, and I look around me at the plants, bushes, trees all bending with the straining weight of the rain... the wondrous psychedelic sight of raindrops caught in a spiders web....I slosh my bare feet in the tiny puddles that coat the deck, laughing like a silly child that has finally gotten her way.

In half an hour I am shivering, thinking about retreating indoors, but reluctant to let this rain fall on my yard without me, but the comfort of my bedroom, and the sound of the rain on the iron roof to lull me to sleep seduces me back to my bed, where I open the drapes and turn off the light, better to see the rain as I fall asleep, content to have my rain lullaby as my final conscious experience.

I awake 4 hours later, sweat streaming down the back of my neck, and I angrily slam open the window above my bed to allow some non existent air into my room and to face another day of relentless Australian summer humidity and sun.

I love the rain.