Saturday, December 12, 2009

I'm Dreaming of a Wet Christmas

I am sure you will all recall being a child and eagerly anticipating that certain change of weather that the winter months bring. Most assuredly our eyes searched the heavens for at least one snowflake--any sign that meant that school could be closed the next day. Being in the desert the kids don't really get to experience the joy of falling snow. I imagine it's probably hard for the expat kids (who know about snow) to hear songs like "White Christmas" or "Let it Snow" without looking towards the heavens for a weather-related Christmas miracle, instead of the fake stuff at Ski Dubai.

And now that we are adults, even though we know what hassles the snow can bring, we can't help but feel a little giddy about the first snowfall of the year, especially when accompanied by the elated shouts of a kid greeting the flakes with a jubilant "It's snowing!!"

And I thought I would miss that feeling here.

This last week, the weather has finally turned chilly enough for me to reach for a sweatshirt for my walk to work. The clouds started to cover the sky, and the wind has picked up. We even had a sandstorm that caused the city to appear encased in fog. It is almost like a good winter.

Yesterday after church, while chatting with friends, the feet of a few boys thundered to the nearest window. Without even a word, one could sense that they were excited about something going on outside. Almost in unison they proclaimed, "It's raining!" and quickly headed for the exit to go play in the rain. My own heart leapt in excitement. Rain! It's finally raining!

Oh sure, you can't build rain-forts, have rainball fights, or make rain angels, but when you haven't seen a drop of precipitation since March the first rainfall somehow feels a lot like snow. And now, if you'll excuse me, I need to finish my work and get outside. There are some puddles to jump in!

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