Day 144 – A Year of Gratitude and Joy – Unexpected Rainstorms

Living in the desert, we’ve come to appreciate the very rare rainstorms that (hopefully) come with summer’s monsoon season. So when we checked the weather forecast for a recent trip to the Washington, DC area and saw mostly sunny skies in the forecast, we decided not to pack an umbrella. That was a mistake.

We landed under partly cloudy skies with no threats of storms on the visible horizon. We claimed our bags and headed for the local metro station. We knew the area and knew it was an easy ride with a short two-block stroll to our hotel. 

As we walked along the platform to wait for the next train, I noticed the tell-tale bright flash of lightning … and the accompanying mean-looking gray clouds gathering overhead. Then … “CRACK” … thunder roared. In moments, the puddles on the platform started to ripple with rain drops.

In less than a minute, the skies opened up and rain spewed down with fury. As Greg pulled up the radar on his phone (he’s ever the weather geek), we pushed a couple extra steps back so we were in the middle of the platform and waited for the train as we marveled at the thunderstorm raging forth.

On board and safely seated, the train entered a tunnel. As it came out, Mother Nature showed her true force with the pinging and banging of hail. The rain washed over the train windows in streams.

We arrived at our stop a few minutes later. The rain still cascaded over the train windows and poured off the roof of the metro station. We headed to the street level wondering how long we would have to wait for the storm to pass. Luckily, the rain eased up quickly and we decided to brave the two block walk in the waning weather. It was a wet walk, but we got checked in and hung up our wet clothes.

I reminded Greg about the time we walked home in a rainstorm when we lived here. We’d splashed in the puddle like kids and laughed the whole way home. We laughed this time, too. The weather was warm enough to keep away any chill. The rain was easy and fairly light. We had clean, dry clothes to change into right away. So we had fun with it. 

By the time we’d changed and called an Uber to take us to dinner, the rain had stopped. It was a beautiful evening. I am grateful for the rain and how it can be so refreshing. 

There’s a whole world out there just waiting to be explored. Play in the rain every now and then … just for the fun of it.

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