After the Rainbow
Beau September 22nd, 2009
Saturday afternoon was calm and peaceful, but the sky grew darker to the south. Rain coming I thought, gladly, since we really needed it. And then a rainbow appeared in the east as the sun moved downard through the western sky. It was beautiful, brightening and growing larger until we saw the entire arc across the clouds. The young boy danced and smiled, and wanted so badly to go and chase the end of the rainbow to find the gold. He knows it’s just a story, but that doesn’t change the wonder and amazement of the imagination.
Finally the rainbow faded as sunset came, and we looked west to see the light still upon the sky, between the clouds, with nightfall ahead. The boy raced to get his paint set and sat on the hill shouting for some gray paint. Mix some black and white I yelled back, and he painted for a time, trying to capture the stirrings in his heart and the pretty sky after the rainbow.
And then the rain came. That’s a first for me… to enjoy a rainbow before the storm instead of after. It was time for supper too, as the raindrops made splotches on his paper. He didn’t want to come in, but we finally picked things up and came in for the night. He’s still working on his picture.
As for the rain, it seems that I spoke too soon the other day. I would have gladly shared our dry weather with some of you… instead it appears we got some of your rain. The forecast was around 30% for showers. The rain after the rainbow drizzled on and off throughout the night… almost perfect.
Almost… and then the heavens opened up at first light and we got five inches of rain in less than two hours. With predictable results… the pond came up over two feet very quickly, rushing out the spillway and the watershed flooded everywhere. Down the road, a drainage pipe was completely lifted and washed out of someone’s drive. Our gravel driveway, which only required raking a couple times this year, was totally washed out toward the dip in the middle, leaving over a ton of crushed and larger rocks washed over the side down the slope.
It doesn’t look too bad in the pictures, but the ruts were 6-8 inches deep and well up the other slope too. Little car tires can become easily damaged by such terrain. Where the water is pooled to the left of the drive is a drainage pipe, overwhelmed by the volume of water. For a few minutes it topped over the driveway, and then gravel washed into that dip, pouring off the driveway.
So yesterday included a half day of seat time on the tractor trying to get it back in shape, along with a couple hours of hand raking and shoveling. Not on the list of things to do, but it needed doing. If this is the kind of rain you’ve been having further south, then I understand your frustration. Time to get out the paddles…
All part of life right? Hope for the best and prepare for the worst… the saying goes. Maybe, but I find that a bit defeatist. Sure we need to be prepared, but with divine or other providence, as each may believe, we can try to focus on what makes our lives worth living. I find it enormously helpful to have an abiding faith and belief that things will work out just fine.
So prepare for the best, hope for the best, and do your best… enjoy the glad days and the moments of beauty. Appreciate the rainbows when they come. Sometimes it’s after the rainbow that our challenges appear.
And that’s okay too.