Rain, Rain Go Away....

The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain...  

                                   Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

It's been pouring rain for days in Long Beach.  There has been flooding, destruction, a tornado and, most strangely of all, surfing on our shores.  You can't actually surf in the still waters of Long Beach, so that should tell you something.

The rain has fit my mood.  It started raining when my Squeeze moved out and it hasn't stopped since.  At least I think its rain on the windows and not just the view from my own eyes.  

At first I was grateful for it.   My garden had been neglected by me lately and I couldn't really remember the last time I'd watered it.  I've been busy rearranging a life, but still...  Maybe I'd neglected it in part because of frustration that nothing seemed to be growing except three broad bean plants, some lettuce varieties, and a few volunteer sunflowers or maybe because I'm just not sure what will become of me, the garden, and Long Beach.  Maybe I was pulling away from it so it won't hurt so much.

Nonetheless, as this wave of relentless rain and wind continued to batter us, I began to worry about what I did have growing there...  Would it hold up against the storm?  Would I lose the small stronghold I had in the garden?  Would it drown and destroy whatever seeds remained dormant underground?

During a brief moment of strange and hopeful sunlight, I ran over to the garden to see what the damage was....  Sure enough, my broad beans were a tangled mess on the ground and my sunflowers were flattened over.   I related.  It's much how I'm feeling in this storm of my own.

I cut some lettuce, pulled the broad beans tall against the string guides quietly wishing them to stay, and then I thanked the sunflowers for their service - truthfully, they have no business growing this time of year.     

And now I'm left wondering, as the news tells me that this storm will only get stronger and fiercer:  Will the garden be able to pick itself up again?  Will my plants be strong enough to ever stand tall again?  Or will this particular storm have simply been too much for me and the garden to weather?