Rain.

I'm a Tennessee girl. 

In Tennessee, it gets hot, it gets cold, it gets windy, it gets muggy, it gets a LOT of different kinds of weather...but one thing it does NOT get is super dry.

I’m not really a Taiyuan girl.

In Taiyuan, it gets hot, it gets cold, it gets windy, it gets dusty, and a few times a year it gets precipitation.

I’m seen roughly 7 rainfalls and 4 snowfalls since I got here in September, give or take.

I didn’t see ANY rain from November until last week.

I used to complain about rain, but I never realized how big a part of my life it was. Sometimes I just NEED a rainy day. Why? Rain smells great, makes things greener, and gives you a reason to drink hot chocolate.

Rain is nature’s way of crying out all of its angst. 

And when nature can’t get it out, neither can I.

Last week I’d been checking the weather every day to see if there was any chance of us getting rain. The chance went from 60% to 20% and I was sure my hopes would be dashed to the rocks.

But then....

I was making tortillas by the stove, staring out the window, when I saw it.

Little, wet specks falling from the sky.
Could it be????

I THREW OPEN THE WINDOW, STUCK MY HANDS OUTSIDE, AND YELLED.
Yes it was!!!!

Sweet, wonderful, good-smelling RAIN!

Wet, dripping, musical RAIN!

Wonderful, refreshing, exhilarating RAIN!

RAIN, RAIN, RAIN, RAIN, RAIN!

It only lasted an hour or two, but I was smiling for the rest of the night.

I LOVE RAIN.

Along with the rain came it’s friend, Mr. WIND, whom I’m not so fond of, but the pair of them made me a gift.

They brought the sky back.

I stumbled into my kitchen a few mornings later and found myself gaping at the sight of mountains, blue skies, and little white clouds outside of my window.

I’ve been hiding under pollution so long it didn’t even look real to me.

The world was a beautiful place this week.