Our rain is back

Someone said that today. Most would be sad under these conditions, but here in GroveAtopia, the return of rain makes us happy. We breathe a sigh of relief.

Especially now because we just came out of one of the coldest weeks ever. Last week it was 5.

If you are like me, the number 5 is a dollar bill, the age of a kindergartner or an easy number to count by. But last week, here in GroveAtopia, 5 meant degrees. As in 5 degrees. As in really, really cold. Last week, we had someone else's weather, not our own.

Many people think the weather in GroveAtopia, especially in winter, is downright dismal. Rain, rain, rain. Grey, grey, grey. They couldn't handle it they say.

But we can. And we do. And we expect and accept it.

Last week, however, was different. First it was cold. For us, that means below 20. Brrr. But it didn't end there. Day after day it colder and colder.

Then one day it was 5. Pipes froze. No matter what, you could not get warm.

Now let's be clear. This is not our weather. It comes from somewhere else and we don't like it.

But today, finally, it was raining. 50 degrees and raining, big fat raindrops - the kind that sneak up on you and suddenly begin to drop from the heavy clouds in the grey sky - that's what we know. That's what winter is supposed to be.

Those who don't understand why we live here because of the weather, merely see just that. The weather. They see rain, and grey, wet and green. They just don't understand.

We GroveAtopians know better. When we see rain in winter, we see it as "our rain" because we know anything worse really belongs somewhere else.