Summary

The article celebrates the arrival of much-needed rain, reflecting on its soothing effects and the author's personal achievements, such as clearing her reading list amidst the tranquil weather.

Abstract

The author expresses gratitude for the rain, which not only provides essential sustenance for nature but also creates a peaceful ambiance that enhances sleep and productivity. The rainy days offer a respite from work, allowing the author to catch up on a growing list of Medium articles she had saved for reading. The accomplishment of reaching the end of this list is celebrated with a glass of chardonnay and a tapas platter. The article also touches on the challenges of limited space in the author's living quarters, the importance of compromise in relationships, and the global imbalance of weather patterns, with some regions experiencing droughts while others face excessive rainfall.

Opinions

The author enjoys the sound of rain and finds it conducive to a good night's sleep.
She values the act of reading and engages deeply with articles by highlighting, clapping, and commenting.
The author acknowledges the difficulty of keeping up with her reading list due to limited free time during the summer.
She emphasizes the importance of small life pleasures, such as reading and enjoying good food and wine.
The author reflects on the global weather imbalance, noting the severe droughts in Europe and the United States contrasted with excessive rainfall in parts of Australia.
She expresses a desire for more hours in the day to read all the stories that interest her.
The author makes a promise to read and comment on articles with good narratives or high-quality photographs, provided they are not about getting rich.
She muses on the quote by Charles Dudley Warner, highlighting humanity's tendency to discuss the weather without taking action to change it.

Let’s Raise Our Glass and Celebrate the Rain

Because it is what keeps us alive

Rain falling from the sky. | Credit: Anne Bonfert

Raindrops are falling onto the roof.

Is this the long-awaited relief? Is this the rain we’ve all been waiting for? It surely is the kind of rain nature needs right now. A soft rain. A rain that will last for hours. If not even days.

It’s such a soothing sound. The sound of rain drops falling onto the roof of our trailer.

These words I recorded last night just before falling asleep. You guessed it right. I did sleep well. With the windows open and the dropping sound of rain falling onto the trailer, I slept like a baby.

This morning it wasn’t raining anymore, but the clouds were hanging low. We were kept on standby until lunchtime since our boss was hoping the weather would clear and we could jump.

That didn’t happen. At 2 pm, he officially canceled all the jumps for the day and I was almost done with my mission of getting through the reading list.

I don’t know if others out here also use this feature of Medium, but I do a lot. Every single article I get tagged in gets saved in my reading list. Stories from my favorite writers and articles I’d love to read get marked and moved to the reading list.

These days I often don’t find time for reading on Medium and that way this list grows and grows. On Monday, it had made it to 100 stories. That was insane.

I managed to read a lot on Monday since it was my off day and got through 50 percent of all stories. But then work began again and by Friday morning, the list was back up at 70.

Drops of water falling from a hole in our tarp. | Credit: Anne Bonfert

The list is on ZERO. By 3:30 pm this Friday afternoon, I had poured myself a glass of chardonnay to celebrate my accomplishment.

Don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy reading those articles. That’s why I do it. I just don’t have a lot of free time this summer. And I also don’t just read them. I read, highlight, clap, and comment on every story I read.

So here I am, sipping on my glass of wine and snacking on the tapas platter I made for myself to celebrate today’s success.

It’s the small things in life that count.

My celebration drink and snacks. | Credit: Anne Bonfert

And I apologize in case I missed your story. I need more hours in a day to read as much as I want to. But if you want to make sure I don’t miss yours, just tag me. As long as it is not a “how to get rich” story but has a good narrative or high-quality photographs, I’ll promise, I will read it and comment on it.

Meanwhile, let’s all be quiet for a moment and just listen.

Yes, it has started to rain again. Just about half an hour ago. It’s not a hard rain. A soft one. One that hopefully will last for hours. The country needs it.

Desperately.

And so do I. To have a day of doing nothing but reading and writing. In bed. Because my husband is occupying the only table in the trailer. But we’re good with it. Small spaces. Making compromises. Only sometimes do we get into an argument. But that’s human and part of every relationship.

Our tomato in the rain. | Credit: Anne Bonfert

Coming back to the topic of rain (yes, it is still raining). You might say it’s raining a lot because I’ve published this summer already two articles on rain and rainy days.

But if I tell you I wrote a piece every time it rained here in my home in northern Germany, you’ll realize that it really didn’t rain much. They just announced most regions in Germany are experiencing severe droughts at the moment.

And as I was chatting to my editing friends from Globetrotters, Gerald Sturgill said it’s also been too dry in his home state in the US. I was wondering how that could be, since the planet is always in balance with the weather.

But then Adrienne Beaumont joined the conversation saying they received 4 times their annual average this year. So, there is your answer. Australia (or at least parts of Australia) is getting all the rain most of Europe and the States are missing.

This is life these days. From one extreme to another.

“Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” — Charles Dudley Warner

Some green weeds standing out above the dead grass. | Credit: Anne Bonfert

More about my weather essays:

Finally, Rain

When all you need is a rainy day…

medium.com

Exploring the Forest After the Rain

When it’s dropping from the treetops

medium.com

Camping Among Rain Clouds

When it rains all around you but not on top of you

medium.com

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