Rainbows

A few years ago, I asked Norm for an umbrella for Christmas. On grey days, I crave sunshine and bright colors. So I asked him for a beautiful rainbow umbrella, and of course he said yes.

I love it, and it's come in handy more than ever lately. Amber has a rainbow umbrella too. This happens to be one of my favorite photos of our little girl.

Back in July when we were house hunting, it was super hot and we knew Texas would have a blistering summer. But I wasn't expecting so many rainy, cloudy days. Everybody here says this is unusual, that normally it doesn't rain this much. But just for kicks, let's compare:

In a normal year, Utah gets about 16-20 inches of rain. The higher number includes snow on the mountain benches. It's a desert.

In Dallas, TX during the last two years they've had about 35-36" rain each year.

But after I got here, between:

August 11- August 31: 2.99 inches

September 1-30: 12.69 inches

October 1-24: 12.74 inches

https://www.iweathernet.com/dfw-weather-records/total-rainfall-at-dfw-year-to-date-and-this-month

I don't do exact math, but that's about 28" of rain in a short amount of time. Texas has had more rain in two months than Utah gets in a year. (I find it especially ironic that at this same time, my friends in Utah were in a severe draught. It's so bad that the governor declared a state of emergency.)

Part of my back yard is pretty swampy all the time. Norm has had the lawn sprinklers off for over a month, and we can't mow the lawn because our lawn mower can't handle wet grass. I planted some flowers in August and I never need to water them. It just keeps raining cats and dogs. I've learned to never leave the windows open in the car, because even when I think it won't rain, it does.

I am very grateful that after an especially torrential downpour, when the pool overflowed, the water ran downhill away from the house.

So what do I do about rain, besides complain?

a. Turn on all the lights inside the house.

b. Jump in puddles.

c. Make rainbows.

One evening last week, after an especially dreary day, Karly and I made a bunch of cards. I love paper, and giving away cards makes me happy. So I used a hot glue gun and ribbons and ric-rac and cotton balls, and here you go:

Here's my favorite quote by Henry David Thoreau:

"The true harvest of my life is intangible - a little star dust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched."

So far I haven't found my way to the end of the rainbow. But I have clutched a handful of ribbon rainbows, and that's my happy place. I wrote about stardust and rainbows a while ago, in relation to being a stay at home mom. For today, I'll be content that there's plenty of water in the lakes, that I have a roof over my head, umbrellas for when we go out, and rainbows, whether real or handmade.

Comments

UnknownOctober 25, 2018 at 3:54 PM
I remember the GIANT drops of rain during heavier rain storms there. Magnificent! Thank you for the positive message of gratitude during the less sunny days. ❤️
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