It's Raining!

Wow! Someone sure did a great rain dance, all of Arizona is getting rain! I've been under a food haze since Thanksgiving, I think, and the last week has just sped by. I can't think of anything else that's happened, except I've been anxiously watching the news and Weather channel, hoping that this storm wouldn't pass us by the way so many have. We haven't really had rain since mid-August. There were a couple sprinkles, but they only spattered the dust around on the car. Today is awesome- I could smell the rain in the air as I was barely coming to consciousness this morning. My mind was drifting out of sleep as my nose whiffed a... sort of freshness as the furnace kicked on. As the scent pushed its way into my brain, I realized it was rain! Then my senses took in the joy of moisture in the atmosphere, it took little time to perk up.

It is still raining, or misting, for the past 14 hours. It's such a thrill for we desert rats to have rain, moisture, whatever wet comes our way. When we lived in Colorado, there were clouds and real weather on a regular basis. The standard saying was "if you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes." It was absolutely true- I've seen it snow in the morning, change to sleet or hail, rain and clear up to beautiful skies in a matter of hours. But here, in the desert southwest, rain is a precious thing. Growing up on a ranch in Yavapai county, the standard phrase was -We can use a little more rain. Even if it had just poured!
Now that brings me to a story. We lived in Copper Basin, and Copper Creek was our neighbor. Most of the time, it was a sleepy little trickle meandering down the wash. Sometimes it wasn't even above the sand, you'd have to dig down into the sand to find water. But, let it rain a while and life changed. During the monsoons, many times we'd drive home, only to find the wash flooded completely- 40-50 feet wide. We would be stuck on the wrong side of the creek, waiting for the water to drop enough to get across. Once the water went down, we still had to deal with the drop-off it had created. The water would cut the sand down a foot or more, sometimes up to three feet. The road would just drop into the creekbed. If we were in the truck, not too troubling, but Mom drove a van, and trying to get it up the other side of the cut was pretty tough.
The first time David came out to the ranch with me, it had been raining, and Mom came trudging up the road on foot. She couldn't get the van up from the crick, and had to walk to the house for help. It was at least a mile walk, in the dark. David had an old '69 Chevy short-bed sidestep 6 cylinder. (He told me that, I didn't remember!) We drove her down to the crick, strapped on a chain between the truck and the van, and darned if he didn't pull her out of that hole! My dad didn't think it was tough enough, but we did it. Earlier that day, my brother Hap got stuck on the wrong side of the creek when it flooded- he was horseback. We went to see if we could find him, and help him, but the water was too wide and deep, so he rode to the neighbor's house to stay until it dropped enough to get back across. Gee, and they wonder why I didn't come home very often from college!

Thanks giving

I survived Thanksgiving week, it was touch and go for a while, though. I had David take me shopping on Saturday before T-day, since if I lift all the heavy stuff I'm shot for days. We bought a 20 pound turkey, a big spiral-cut ham, cases of soda pop, potatoes, on and on. David isn't used to the big shopping, he was getting irritable, but managed to make it through the ordeal. He even put most of it away when we got home!

I had planned to order the whole meal from Fry's, already made, waiting to be warmed up on the big day. Heather objected strongly- even agreed to make the whole dinner instead. I tried to get all the ingredients and stuff ready before Wednesday. Heather got here in the afternoon, just in time to see me starting to hurl. Seems I got the flu on one of my jaunts to a store the day before. Thank goodness Heather was cooking! I supervised, helping her to learn how to brine and cook the turkey, make cranberry sauce, etc. She already makes the best mashed potatoes ever, so that wasn't a problem.

There were 10 for dinner; both our Mom's, our kids, David's sister, brother and his son. It was beautifully warm, clear and sunny. I planned to have outdoor seating since it was so nice. I forgot we were feeding mostly men, who immediately grabbed their plates and went back to the football game. We typically have a casual Thanksgiving, because what's more to be grateful for than football??? Friday night Heather got sick, then David Saturday afternoon, so we spent the whole weekend running-to the bathroom, as it were.

I was determined to eat Thanksgiving this year, I was sick last year too, and really couldn't eat. I realized Wednesday evening that I had officially been sick for a full year. YUK... Anyhooo, this year I ate whatever, even some pie. I decided 2007 was a crap year, and the new one would start with a much better tone. Food! It's a glorious thing, I love to eat. Now that I had to gain a little weight back after the summer of fun and games, i.e. surgery over and over, I guess that I want food to be my friend again.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday, it gives all of us a certain date to reflect on our blessings, and all the things we're grateful for. I believe that we grow the most during adversity, and this past year certainly is no different. I would not choose to be bedridden for weeks at a time, I certainly did not want to have 3 surgeries in a year, especially when 2 of them were heart surgeries. I have little patience for down time, really, and feel a certain pang of guilt if I'm not using all my time 'wisely'. And yet, there were weeks at a time that my brain was too fuzzy to read, knit or most other things I usually do. So, I spent a lot of time praying, for my family, friends, rain, sometimes for me. I watched my family change and grow because of this crisis. I have become somewhat more patient with myself, taking it slower, resting as needed. Life isn't always easy, but the refining process can make us better people, kinder, more loving. I hope this has done that for me, and for my family. 2008 will bring better health, and hopefully more rain!