Rain, rain, go away

http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2010/08/tropical_depression_5_coming_b.html

It's been cloudy cloudy cloudy, rainy rainy rainy here.  As in UNSEASONABLY rainy.  Last Tuesday one of the streets in our neighborhood literally turned into a river.  I was out with my oldest daughter, and I was a little bit afraid that we'd get hit by a floating trash can or pulled into the current in the street.  On Saturday we stood in our dining room during a huge storm and watched "protective" netting and large boards fly off the construction project that is happening 300 feet from our house (scary).  I also saw a weird blue flash from a transformer blowing in our neighborhood.  The rain has caused a huge mosquito population, and dengue is rampant, with over 50,000 cases in our state.  And the price of tomatoes has skyrocketed, mainly due to poor crops because of the rain.  

On top of that, the grey skies just start to get people down.  Maybe that's why there's been a rash of blog posts addressing some challenges in Brazil, or "interesting" culture differences.  This post about mediocrity has really got me thinking, especially working here as an educator.  But when combined with the rain, it's been tempting to sulk, and just feel downright grumpy about most everything.  

But yesterday the sun came out!  Hope is restored.  And today THE SUN CAME BACK!!  I stood in my laundry area for a full minute, just letting the sun shine on my face this morning.  Thank you.