Arizona Rain

I love the feeling that we get here in the Phoenix area when it rains. It's like the feeling you get when you take out your coat for the first time in the winter and find something in it's pocket. You've gone without it all of these months and you almost forgot how wonderful it is, but now that it's back you just want to jump up and down with joy. For most of the U.S., rain is no big thing, but for us... well it's different. Maybe it's because we only get an average 28 days of precipitation per year as compared to the national average of 101 days. All I know is, us Phoenicians really come alive with a good rain. Let me give you an example. Tonight it started raining right after we were done with dinner. We still had about an hour before the kids had to go to bed, so we were just looking out the windows with them and talking to them about rain. Jade started getting all antsy. She began pointing to the sliding glass door handle and shaking her head up and down. So, we decided to go out and enjoy the weather. We started off just holding both kids so they wouldn't get wet, but by the time we were done, Braden was running around wearing his birthday suit and Jade was stripped down to her diaper. Braden was squealing with delight and saying over and over, "I'm getting a shower!". It started coming down harder, so we came inside, bundled up the kids, and got them in their PJ's. We still had some time, so we made some hot chocolate and gathered together and Spencer and I told some impromptu stories about two little kids named Braden and Jade. Then as we went upstairs to tuck them in, we saw a double rainbow gracing the sky with it's beauty. I went outside and smelled the clean air and that wet palo verde tree smell and I thought about how much I love a good Arizona rain.