Dancing in the Rain

Last night, after leaving Henry Hudson’s, where I’d had a drink with the girls after work, I headed to the grocery store to pick up a few necessities. I noticed that it was cloudy and humid and I knew that storms had rolled through, just to the north, an hour or so earlier. I quickly ran in to Crest, grabbed the few things I needed, and came back out, just in time for the rain to start softly falling. Normally, I might have been a little irritated, but last night, it was kind of a magical experience.

You see, I love the smell of rain. I always have and I always will. For me, those first few minutes of a soft late spring or summer rain immediately transport me back to the days of my childhood…

Suddenly, I was no longer standing next to my car in the parking lot of a metro grocery store. Instead, I was seven again, running down the sidewalk at Grandma Barbara’s, laughing uncontrollably with my face tilted up to the sky, taking in that soft rain. I could hear the pinging sound of my feet hitting the sidewalk and see Gus and Ben, her two dogs, running alongside me, while she sewed on the kitchen table – because it was cooler in the kitchen than in her sewing room.

My memory’s time travel didn’t last terribly long, but it was an incredibly sweet journey.

You see, Grandma didn’t care if we played in the rain, as long as there was no lightning. She’d even let us use her umbrella, if we wanted to dance and twirl it, while dreaming we were singing on stage. For that matter, she normally didn’t care if we played in the mud…or the puddles…or her flower beds…as long as we stayed safe and out of trouble.

But, I digress. I feel so fortunate to have sense a strong connection between my sense of smell and my memories. Sure, there are times that it’s difficult – like when I was in public and smelled someone smoking a King Edward cigar shortly after Poppy passed away – but it’s a feeling that I wouldn’t trade for anything!

Ahhh…to be a carefree child again, even if it was just for a few minutes last night, thanks to a brief rain shower!