Like the rain, I have fallen for you...

Living in the desert has taken some getting used to. There are very few trees. The trees that are here are all deciduous, no evergreens to speak of. There is more dust and dirt than any one place should rightfully have. The wind never stops blowing. It blows all of the dust and dirt right into the house and over everything. It gets so hot during the summers that you open the door and feel the heat come up over you like when you open the oven when you're baking. It gets so cold during the winters that my cats have taken to sleeping under the covers. It rarely rains.

I miss the rain. Because I grew up in Seattle, I used to take the rain for granted. It was going to happen, and probably sooner rather than later. Now that I've lived in the desert for ten years, I have come to view the rain with new appreciation.

The rain brings me peace. It makes this place really feel like home.

You know the saying when it rains it pours?? It's true in the desert. It's as if the heavens steal all the rain away from the desert for most of the year, and then, when it spills over the edges of the clouds, it all comes down at once. It wasn't until the first rainstorm after we moved into the house that we realized our house doesn't have gutters. Most houses here don't. It just doesn't rain enough to warrant them. While I thought it was odd at first, now it's sort of cool. The rain sheets off the roof all around the house, closing us in and giving us privacy and a sense of coziness.

Though I miss the rain, I love it here now.