A Rainy Saturday Morning

It makes good fiction to say, "it dawned raining this morning," but the fact is, I wasn't awake to see it. All I know for sure is it's rainy now and the clouds were moving in late last night. Have you ever thought of all the different ways it rains? For instance, it's probably accurate to say we're having light rain at the moment, which is nothing more than regular rain without all the fat and calories. Sometimes it falls in sheets, at which point I get to replenish my linen closet, and when it pours I find out what a mug feels like, standing under a beer tap.

In any case, I'm glad I finished mowing the yard yesterday. Until I moved to Maine I'd never driven a riding mower. Growing up, those were the toys of the rich and famous. Here, if I had to depend on pushing Old Bessy, that's all I'd do from sunup to sundown. The one I have is a hand-me-down from the previous owner, replete with torn seat and manual choke. It's loud enough to wake the dead, tips eerily going sideways down the hill toward the hayfield, and it will never win a lawn mower race, but it gets the job done.

I've grown rather fond of that mower, actually, and I've taken to giving it a pat and "good job" at the end of the day. I don't suppose the encouragement will keep it out of the shop, but it makes me feel good anyway. Speaking of feeling good, I've noticed something the past few months.

When I moved here, I brought my Colorado tradition of waving to everyone who passes, with me. I figured country folk are the same everywhere and since this is the country, things shouldn't be any different. Well, it turns out they were and I was the only one who did it. At first, I felt like a fish out of water, but I decided if it was good enough for Colorado, it was good enough for Maine, and a little change never did anyone harm. So, I waved and pretty soon, everyone was waving back. If I'm driving down the road and forget, they wave anyway. It's not much, it probably won't change the world, but it makes people feel connected, a little less alone, and that feels good.


(Creative Commons image by matt.wagers via Flickr)