One of the few things I miss terribly about the Bay Area is the winter storms.  I used to love when the forecast would say “starting in the North Bay…”  I learned over time that I lived in the North Bay and we would be the first to get the mist, then the showers, then the settled-in rain of the storm, maybe accompanied by some exciting wind.   It just doesn’t happen very often here and seems to leave as quickly as it comes.  This morning Al was joking that the weather forecasters get all excited by a possible rain system, as if it is a tornado warning.  “IT’S COMING DOWN IN SHEETS IN IRVINE RIGHT NOW!”   They have to announce it while they can before it’s over!

Last night I was up late catching up on “my” TV shows (Detective Carter dies on Person of Interest? Noooooo…….! Didn’t see it coming at all.  Had to watch a recorded comedy after that…) and I suddenly heard a strange sound – rain!  Real rain! Rain you could hear with your ears from inside the house!  Instant bliss!

This morning Chris and I walked in the mist. My overreaction to the rain last night was short-lived. I took an umbrella just on principle, the one Al brought me from London with the carved bird head handle.  It’s a shame it has to sit in the closet so much.  It was more of a shield from the wind than a tool for keeping me dry.  It was a lovely walk, although every morning walk is unique in San Clemente. 

Now it is about 9 a.m. and the rain has started again.  It is so so beautiful.  I cherish every second.  As I write it has already stopped but for one brief shining moment there were sweet rain icicles falling from the eaves.  I took a picture even!  I’m hoping it will continue during the day – I see clouds as far as I can see out to the ocean.

It’s not even so much the rain I miss.  I remember by the end of winter I was so done. On the weekends I wouldn’t even want to drive anywhere after carting the kids around in the non-stop rain all week.  I know the romance versus the reality has gripped my soul again, just like the memories of Chicago snow.  What I miss is the imperative to sit by the fire with a book or the knitting needles, covered by a quilt and a vague sense of melancholy.

There is the beach, I know, and it of course has its own call to grab a book and eschew all responsibility.  However, it takes a little more work to get there and it not as irresistible as the overstuffed chair and the fireplace.  A gorgeous southern California sunny day offers many options of how to utilize that weather.

I am thinking I may have to watch the weather forecast and head up to the Bay Area spontaneously and crash at a friend’s house (I’m lookin’ at you, Katie) for endless tea and deep conversation and rain, rain, rain.