Yesterday was a rainy day of waiting by the phone for a call, not wanting to be off somewhere in case I had to head back to the hospital.
The rain misted all day, a slight moving blur between the windows and trees, caught if you focused on it but otherwise creating a gentle, subvisible curtain. It reminded me that, except for Christmases, I have not seen this sort of rain in almost 11 years, other than this past fall when I came out. It strikes me that is a long time.
Rain here at The Ranch is (for the most part) different than rain in New Home. Here, the rain can fall heavily or gently for days or a week, sometimes (like today) so faintly that it might be mistaken for snow. In New Home, rain storms are much more violent and short lived, with the rain generally hurling itself at the ground, liquid skydivers trying to burst aside the soil structure.
It makes for a grey morning and afternoon. The light is enough that you can mostly get things done without having to turn additional lighting, which makes for a rather pleasant experience. The ambient light from the clouds also seems to highlight the slowly incipient green of the grass growing and the needles and leave of the pines, cedars, and madrones.
The daffodils that my mother loves so much are enjoying the rain as well, reminding me that Spring is right around the corner, even given today's weather conditions.
A short update on my parents: TB the Elder had an MRI yesterday. It revealed nothing definitive. The doctor my sister spoke with today is baffled and is doing some more research. My sister also stopped by to see my mother today. She is able to get out of her room now and my sister said she is meeting people and doing activities and seems to be doing okay.
How are you holding up TB?
ReplyDeleteOkay? I do not really know how to answer, Glen. We have done all we can do up to this point. I think everyone has.
DeleteI suppose I am simply focusing on the present at the moment, between my sister and I trying to figure out what happens when he does come out of the hospital. That is about as far as my world extends at the moment.
I guess we get both kinds of rains. In the late fall/early winter we can get days long drizzles and in the spring/early summer we can get what I call toad stranglers that are often done in 15 minutes but leave behind more rain than the two days worth of rain in the fall.
ReplyDeleteAlthough no first hand experience, I have seen other long term couples get split up in old age and it seems as if the one left behind falls apart quickly and without apparent cause. Whole body grief perhaps? The winter this pandemic began a fellow I talk to regularly in church lost his wife of like 70+ years. He was still ushering and in really good health and I remember feeling sorry for the years he was going to have to spend missing his wife. He died less than three weeks later. They found him dead in his shower. Marital bonds can really be "'til death do us part".
Ed, one of the differences I think is that for where The Ranch is, we are in the classic monsoon climate zone: rain six months of the year, dry six months of the year.
DeleteI am wondering if that is part of it, truly. Or if in some way based on the fact that they were having to be separated - hopefully only temporarily - he has started to give up, or at least part of it has.
Soon all that rain will usher in the warmth needed to make the grasses fill out more and turn green, and those daffodils pop into beautiful colors. I look forward to that.
ReplyDeleteMe too Karen. Daffodils are one of my favorites.
DeleteSome good news, of sorts about your mother.
ReplyDeleteStill praying for you all, TB. ♥
It is Linda. I am sure not every day will be like this day, but a good day is what my sister and I need right now.
DeleteNot very good with words as I have so much going on in my head at the moment, but I can send blessings out to you, your sister, your parents, and all your family.....Vx
ReplyDeleteThank you Vera. The blessings are warmly appreciated
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