Rain

Image by law_keven via Flickr

Outside is raining like the end of the world is near, or maybe the flood. Maya and I are looking out the window, and she is trying to catch the big rain drops in her small fist. The wind blows directly into our faces. The fragrance of freshness hits my nostrils. I kiss my baby's cheek that smells like chocolate and mischief.

Hope Is My Middle Name

Image by Mr Jaded via Flickr

I have to admit it, today was a better day that the last..hm...the last "few" ones. Our dog Dooby is feeling a tad better, not wheezing like an old, almost broken engine, still peeing the house like there is no tomorow. But I decided to simply accept it this way. He is old, he'll die soon (unfortunately) and if I have to clean after him for a while, so be it. Mind you, I am not that optimistic after I clean pee nr. 20, but thank God here in Israel we have tiles all over the apartment, and not wooden floors.
Another reason I feel better is because my son's motorbike's got stolen. Yes, you've heard me. STOLEN! And I am happy about it. He bought it four months ago and this was his third accident...I know he took a loan to pay for the bike and to fix it but he'll pay it up and he'll stay alive. That's the most important thing. We tried to talk him out this motorbike stuff after each and every accident, but he didn't want to listen. So I thought I'd have to smash it to little pieces with a hammer or something, because I couldn't let him ride it again. But God helped us all and somebody stole it! I hope they'll never find the thief...
It rained today. During the day it wasn't the nicest sensation because the weather is pretty hot and you got the feeling you're in a greenhouse. But it the evening! It was pure bliss and paradise together! I opened all the windows and let the fresh air tumble in, paying havoc with my wind-chimes. The smell of fresh air and rain always make me think about my childhood in Romania.
Also, today Maya had her first jump into puddles experience. We took her to the pediatrician and when we got out the alley between the houses was full of fresh, shiny puddles! My husband wanted to stop her but I said that there is no greater pleasure after the rain that to jump into puddles, so I took my baby and showed her how to properly do it.
So after a day like this one, please, allow me to fell hopeful...

The First Rain

Image via Wikipedia

Yes, we had it! The first rain of the autumn was here...Well now, don't expect a down pour, a deluge. It was a short rain, nothing spectacular, but enough to leave some puddles for the kids to jump in, and definitely enough to make it one of the main events of the week. Because only in Israel, where the drought left us parched and dry, could the first rain be making headlines...
Of course all the signs of the rain are gone by now (mid-morning) but at seven o'clock this morning I closed my eyes and inhaled the fresh air, and for a few moments, I was back home, in Romania...
It was a good start for the week and I hope this feeling of freshness will stay with me for a while...

Dreaming of Rain

Image by K2D2vaca via Flickr

It is so hot in this part of the world that I can feel my brain turning into some kind of terpid mush that stammers and stutters incomprehensible thoughts...
The sun is so hot already in the morning that when I open the blinds and touch the aluminium frame, it burns my fingers.
The light is so strong that is sends daggers through my eyes.
Everything is dry and brown, the grass losing its ground on favour of singed bits of plants that sting your soles.
Strangely enough, everything is dry, but because of the near-by sea the air is so humid it makes the act of inspiring a difficult task. I feel like I am in a not so distant future where everything will be burned dry by the unforgivable sun. So, to escape this reality and any other future ones, I dream...

I dream of Romania. Of cool summer mornings, of spring water so cold that frezees your throat and makes your head hurt.
I dream of a quick summer rain that purifies everything and cleans the air, oh my God, I can almost smell it, the fresh air, the coolness of the rain drops on my skin...I used to go out after the rain and run through the cold puddles like being possesed. By the demon of happiness.

I dream of the dark woods in the Carpathian mountains, where the moss is so green and soft you can put your cheeck on it, sweet and pungent smelling pillow. Oh, the smell of the earth on the wood's floor after a cool summer rain...it smells of trees' bark and crushed bitter leaves and mushrooms, a smell like no other I know. And I remember it so well that I have to open my eyes to make sure I'm still here.

I dream of the electric moment before a summer storm, the clouds dark grey and heavy, the distant rumbling of a thunder, the quick arrow of a lightning, the eerie atmosphere charged with electricity, the silence and then... the nature breaking loose like an orchestra playing in perfect harmony in a huge cathedral with its dome under the sky.

I dream, but like every dream it has to end and the images delete themselves from my brain and the hot air burns my nostrils again and lies heavy on my chest. I sigh and turn on the air-conditioning...