Rain Dance… by JoAnn

This past summer has been one of the hottest that I can remember. I thought it might just be one of the symptoms of getting old. But from what I have read, it has been a scorcher for everyone in the U.S., not just us older folks.

What has bothered me the most is the drought my area has been in for most of this summer. I’m not one to wish for rain, but things begin to feel unnatural when the ground is hard with a layer of dust on top. When it gets so dry, people stop mowing their lawns because the grass is usually already dead, or by cutting it, you will expose the roots and surely kill it. Things like that make me wish for rain.

I had a bunny rabbit in my backyard every day for a couple of months. I enjoyed watching him from my kitchen window. But when the drought went into full swing, the little guy left to find a cooler place where he could find water. My guess would be one of the farms with a pond nearby. I hope he makes it back to my yard when things cool down.

I am sure our local farmers have struggled immensely from the drought. I myself am not on their payroll. But I am surrounded by a vast number of acres of crops in my little Tennessee town. It saddens me to drive by a field and notice brown leaves on crops that should be a rich green color. Our farmers are most certainly taken for granted by the world. Their hardships must be plenty.

Two weeks ago, a miracle happened. It rained! Not just a little shower or two, but a full-day soaking. Something I know everyone in my town had been praying for. It made me wonder if some of my neighbors had been out doing a rain dance together. Maybe more like a rain prayer? Whether they danced, prayed, or both, I am so happy it worked! We have continued to get rain since, by way of old-fashioned summer storms. The kind that makes a day perfect for napping. It has certainly brightened my mood.

I hope the rain we have been getting as of late has given the farmers a sense of relief. But I am not so sure that is the case. While I watch the historical floods happening in our close neighboring state of Kentucky, our weather man says we are still considered to be in a drought. How can there be way too much rain a few hundred miles from us, and yet we are still counting every drop? Only one person can answer that question, and I have been taught never to question Him.

Here’s hoping you have the perfect amount of sunshine and rain wherever you are on this earth. May your skies be blue and your load a light one. Thanks for reading.