The Rain, Rain, Rain

It is raining... again...

This May has been full of rain - here and in many other places as well. I know that many of my Texas Music Therapist Group of Friends are being deluged by rain waters. We're currently in the middle of some storms after an entire day without rain. Our forecast calls for storms for the next 18 hours, at least.

 

I am thinking about all of my friends, waiting for the waters to recede, and making music to help them pass the time. If you are interested in seeing what they've been doing, check out #‎musictherapyshenanigans‬ to see what's been happening down there.

It's amazing how much rain can change our lives.

My farmer friends spend much of their time hoping for and then lamenting the rain. Lately the rain never seems to come as it is needed. There is either too much or not enough or both happening. Right now, fields that are just starting to sprout are being flooded out. Those crops won't survive. The amount of standing water in the fields right now will affect corn prices next fall. Too much water now changes what we eat later on. It's amazing.

The rain affects so much more than the crops. It also triggers memories and ideas.

One of my family friends, a person in the late stage of Dementia, once had a moment of lucidity when it came to my home and the flood waters. There was a news story about my town and some flooding that was pretty intense there. He looked at his wife and said, "I sure hope that Mary Jane is okay." His wife was surprised that he remembered that I lived in my town - it was a relatively new development. When she emailed me about the situation, I asked her to tell him not to worry. I was far away from any body of water that would directly affect me.

For me, the memories that are triggered most in the midst of a rainstorm are mostly good ones. Playing outside in the raindrops as a very young child. Singing in the church at a late night rehearsal - singing about the magnificence of creation and stopping the music just as a thunderclap shakes the entire building (and, in CA, thunder those days was a rarity). Running from tent to tent in the midst of thunderstorms in the Missouri Ozarks during Girl Scout Camp. Watching the lightning strike over the valley from my high-up dorm room as an undergraduate. Singing to an entire group of clients during a "tornado drill" that turned out to be a microburst that led to our evacuation. I got to lead an impromptu sing-along in the middle of the gym while our school building filled up with gas from a torn natural gas line on the ceiling caused by the winds pushing a 12-ton air conditioning unit across the roof. (That one's not really all that pleasant - I'm VERY scared of tornadoes - but I was able to keep my cool while encouraging others to sing loudly and strongly in a safer location.) I have (mostly) good memories when it comes to rain.

I am hoping, and sending these thoughts into the universe in my own way, that the rain stops soon. I am hoping that the flood waters recede. I am hoping that those affected will be able to pick up, start cleaning up the mess, and move on into brighter futures. I am ready for the rain to stop for a while, and I know that others are feeling the same way.

Stay safe, friends. Stay dry. Let us know what you need those of us who are not as affected to do for you. We're here for you.