The Rain is Falling

There is nothing like being woken in the middle of the night by a feeling that something is crawling in your bed. Whoever came up with alarm clocks had it all wrong by thinking some incessant beeping or buzzing coming from the nightstand couldn't be ignored. However, if a system was devised to unleash little ants or creepy crawlers onto your bed at the stroke of a hand, there wouldn't even be a need for a snooze button. I thought of this the other night around 3am after finding myself standing in the middle of my bed, covers on the floor, my right arm wet, and my heart beating like I had just ran to the top of Mt. Fuji. Confused and a now itchy, I hit on the light and smiled at the absurdity of my discovery- oh it's just the rainy season. Evidently, I did not anticipate such high winds and heavy rains during the night so I didn't think to shut the screen door that leads out to the balcony that is a couple feet from the bed. I shook my head while I watched a small puddle on the floor beside the door ripple in the wind as our blue curtain whipped high into the air. Ah, that's why my arm is wet! The tip of the curtain is long enough to land a few inches of damp fabric against the bed- and my arm was in it's path. What a relief! So with a new found sense of peace and calm, I slid the door shut, pulled the sheet from the floor, turned off the light, and found myself wide awake from the commotion. I began to think of what it means to be in a rainy season.

Back home in NJ, it rained during all the seasons- we don't have any particular months dedicated to rain- I guess April showers brought May flowers but that was it. And during the rain we would just get in our cars and put on our lights and wipers and go about our business. Rarely did I carry an umbrella with me, I would rather run from the car to the store or put up my hood on my sweatshirt or coat. In Japan, you will see matching rain coats and pants on all of the scooter riders or bikers-- purple, red, orange, green, blue- if you catch a bunch together at a stop light they can look like a handful of skittles. The walkers always have their umbrellas in tow. Most department and grocery stores have a place to stow your umbrella while you shop. Even little stores like 7 & Holdings (7-11) or McDonalds provide plastic umbrella bags so you or the person next to you won't be inconvieneced by your dripping accessory. The daily routine doesn't change much, just the outfits that the people wear. Then I thought of the Caribbean. Ah, yes the rainy season is such a big part of the year down in St. Lucia and St. Kitts. Wow, I've been in two different parts of the world for 'rainy season'- and the people behave just as differently during these times. Unlike Japan where the people go, go, go, and work, work, work, the rainy season in the islands provides for more vacation days and less time worrying about what isn't getting done. Indicative of their attitude, when the rain is falling, they just chill in the house and enjoy the beauty and company of those around them and thank the Lord for providing nutrients for their crops and land. Naturally, at first I was amazed by this [backward] thinking that you wouldn't go to work or school cause the 'rain was falling'- what do you mean, no one else will be there either?? But that's the beauty in different cultures and different parts of the world. I feel so blessed to not only experience rainy seasons in these places but to observe and learn to understand the people who live in them. Here are some pictures from around the town and the house during our rainy season. The bike parking lot for McDonalds is just as big as the parking lot for the cars. The picture of the dude who has curtains in his car cracked us up as well. Here also is a picture of Mark putting together a new counter space addition to our kitchen. The kitchen table you see in the picture is about to be gone as it's a loaner from the Navy and our time with it is up.