A Rainstorm to Welcome Me Home

The damp, heavy air falls on me like a weighted blanket, my shoulders instantly untense, and a state of tranquility overtakes my entire body.  All my senses awaken at once; I can smell the sweet and musky anticipation of the rain mixed with the honeysuckle, hear the birds calm, feel the atmosphere dampen around me, and watch the sun as it escapes behind the husky clouds of gray.  I am back in the hollow now, surrounded by the lush greenery and the constant and cheerful song of the birds.  I have time now to relax and soak it all in.  I can now revel in nature's summer show without writing a paper in the background or studying for tests, wasting most of the day's beauty in the enclosed and quiet library.  

A mid-afternoon rainstorm is one of my favorite events many summer days bring.  Just as the heat of the day lays a rush of exhaustion against me, and the sweltering crops in the garden are visibly wilting and begging for a drink, a bout of water rumbles in and begins to fall, replenishing and refreshing us all.  Sometimes, the rain takes a while to come; it likes to slowly roll in, calmly threatening for a few hours before.  The sun takes a partial rest, but the birds do not stop chirping.  The air becomes weighty and holds me like a familiar hug before the drops actually start falling.  

For this particular storm, I got caught up in the cracks and roars of it - maybe a bit too much.  The thunder rumbled in swift and strong, and the zaps of lightning followed without wasting any time.  Just before the downpour began, I returned inside, enthused and slightly invigorated by the quick shift in pace outside.  I curled up in bed to hear the rest of the storm.  Listening to the rhythms on the roof change from a pitter-patter to a constant, yet calming, pounding in an instant, I reveled in the peace that it brought.  The satellite had gone out, and all the busy noise around me halted.  All I could hear was the rain, interrupted momentarily by bolting cracks of lightning that lit up the night sky and jolted in through my bedroom windows.  Accompanied by roars of approaching thunder and separated by moments of downpour, I was lullabied into a deep sleep.  I am finally home for the summer.  Under my parent's roof, surrounded by warmth and love on this stormy summer night, with my beasts by my side once again.