AN OPEN LETTER TO GOD

Dear God,

I know you know best and there are reasons for everything you do, but I am respectfully requesting that the thunderstorms and rain stop for a little while. The farmers in these parts really need to get their crops in the field, and all these inches of rain are making that impossible. Could you hold off and send the rain towards the end of June? An inch or two a week from then end of June through late August that comes in a nice gentle shower would be desirable. My flowers and plants and grass do indeed love all this rain, but I really am thinking of the farmers and how much they need things to dry up so they can get in the fields.

Oh yes - - I almost forgot to mention that my five-year old has crawled in bed with me in the middle of the night three times this week during thunderstorms. Three people in a queen sized bed is not a good thing. I am tired and grumpy and when momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. Please - the thunderstorm thing (esp. in the middle of the night) - let's call that off for now, alright?

(and don't forget about the farmers.)

Thanks - and Amen,
Becky

CHANNELING NOAH

I am wondering if the time has arrived that we should consider building an ark. We have had almost fifteen inches of rain in the past three weeks and everything is saturated and flooded. Since last night alone, we have had another three inches. The backyard has standing water in spots, and the sump pump is working overtime. The ditches are overflowing and everything is just a mess. I am worried for my parents who don't have all their beans in yet, and in this rate, may not get it in. They also have corn that is no doubt under water right now. Perhaps they could consider planting rice?

Water, Water Everywhere. . . .(nor any drop to drink)

I suppose you could drink it out of the ditch in someone's front yard if you really wanted to though, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. That phrase is just something that has come to mind a lot lately as I have watched the streets and yards and ditches and fields overflowing with water. That phrase is actually a line from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and is uttered by a sailor adrift on the open ocean without any fresh water to drink. Don't be too impressed. I googled it.

As 8 inches of snow melted this week, about 4-6 inches of rain has also fallen in our area to make for one very wet mess. I was talking to a good friend at our church’s pancake supper last night, and she was lamenting about the six inches of water they had standing in their basement. Chris and I examined our basement carefully last night, but thankfully, found a dry basement and one very active sump pump. One of the former owners of our house had a basement dry system installed, and if it can stand up to the water we have had this week, I am confident it can stand up to anything. That is such a relief because we live in a lower floodplain area anyway, and I have recently watched as my good friend Kristin and her husband Dan, have gone through a wet basement saga that would drive even the most austere teetotaler to drink.

The weather lately has been strange indeed. Last week, we had so much snow that schools were closed. This past Monday, it was 60 degrees, and we had the foggiest day that I can ever remember in my life. It was foggy as we went to work, and even worse as I drove home that evening in the dark. Visibility was maybe a few hundred feet at times. Roads that I have traveled hundreds of times were foreign and distance was extremely difficult to judge. When I got home that evening, I felt like my eyes were bugging out of my head. This week we have also had several thunderstorms with lots of lightening and tons of rain. Today, it rains for awhile, then when we look outside ten minutes later, it’s snowing.

I think I am beginning to understand Mark Twain’s quote a little better (I am sure he could have said the same for Illinois:)

"If you don't like the weather in New England, just wait a few minutes."

-Mark Twain