Tonight it's raining. As in cats and dogs. Literally. Hopefully, it will cool down the house. At the very least, it brought our cat in, whose been laying on the porch all evening with her arms and legs outstretched, mewing passively as I walked by. I know how she feels. This afternoon I threw away a bread bag from the grocery store, thinking to myself that my homemade bread days are over for the next three or four months. With the kitchen temperature hovering around 95, I have no desire to turn the oven on. And I have no desire to cook. Strangely, though, I still desire to eat.
Around bedtime, Jake yelled, "Everyone come outside and see the rainbow!" I was the only one who answered his call. The others lay on the couch watching the NBA playoffs, which, if you ask me, should be over by now. (Every time I ask if this is the last game, my husband and kids always answer, "Sort of. It's the last game these two teams will play, and then there's eight more games." Then I ask if that will signal the end of the season, and this is what they say: "Well, then there's seven more games after that, and then it's over." I've decided it never really ends. The NBA may take a small coffee break, but then it starts up again before you can say, "Isn't there a Masterpiece Theatre Jane Austen show on tonight?.)
So Jake and I went outside and saw this on the west, and this on the east.
And then the earth rumbled and the rains came. It's really bedtime now, and the wind is blowing enough to make the chimes hanging from our deck play a few notes. In the distance I hear children playing. From the busy street outside the neighborhood a siren sounds, its whine growing more faint as the winds pick up, and the chimes begin to play in earnest. Thunder tumbles through the mountains once more and when I look up, the sky is dark. I listen for the rain, and hear its heavy drops hitting the deck outside my window. This is when I notice that the basketball game is over. The television is silent. A bug crawls towards my words on my computer screen. Upstairs, I can hear the footsteps of my family getting ready for sleep, and I look at the clock and realize that I am sleepy too. So good night. And it will be good, with the sound of rain to lull me to sleep, and the songs of birds to wake me in the morning.