Hmmmm, what's that smell?

Last night was pretty much like most nights over the last few months. Stayed up too darn late, gotta [well, supposed to anyway] get up early tomorrow, guess I better hit the hay but I'm still havin' a ton of trouble sleeping. Now, even though I live next door to Larry The Cricket Farmer, unbeknownst to him I've been doing a good job of 'thinnin' out his herd. I've come to learn that it was mostly those pesky males makin' all the 'racket' so I put up a bunch of 'Free Beer Over Here' signs to round 'em up and then I let the bug sprayer do its 'magic' on 'em. And so now I'm down to just a bunch of well behaved females on the 'back forty' [Larrys rear patio] and this has made for much better sleepin'. I have always preferred to sleep with my windows open, allowing the fresh air in rather than in 'lock down' mode, with the windows closed and the A/C kickin' on and off all night long. Of course, this only applies to when I'm alone. If I have a 'friend' over, it's mandatory A/C on all night in the summer. As we all know, when mama's happy, everybody's happy and we all sleep better.


I woke up a couple times throughout the night, as usual but was able to get back to sleep without much trouble because for the most part that insanely irritating noise from those damn crickets has been eliminated. Oh, I still have a few of the guys that 'jump the fence' tryin' to get at all those women crickets [hey, guys will be guys regardless of species] but they are much easier to identify and remove one at a time rather than when they are in a herd. Especially now since they usually have a red plastic cup full of beer in their hands and they're walkin' kinda funny.


Then, without warning, it happened! I was awakened at about 6am, still semi dark out, to a very strange sound indeed. "What is that noise", I asked myself. UH OH, sounds like water running, "Do I have a leak somewhere in the house?" This recently happened to a friend of mine and so my first thoughts went to her shoes floating around the room. I jumped out of bed, realized my feet weren't wet and so that was a good sign. Then it dawned on me, it's raining outside! Just as I peered through the blinds, POW! The sky lit up with a giant bolt of lightnin'. Then a few seconds later, CRAAAAACCCKKKK, the deafening sound of thunder radiated throughout the valley.


Finding it difficult to contain my excitement, I opened the blinds completely and the screen door to run outside and check it out. It was then that I realized I was still naked [yes, I sleep naked] and that perhaps I should contain my excitement long enough to go back inside and put some shorts on, THEN go outside to enjoy the festivities. It was still dark out and the only 'women' around were the crickets, so no harm was done by my overzealous behavior.


Wow, what a spectacular show. I just love the thunder storms in the desert. Especially when it's relatively dark outside. The lightning looks incredible peeking out between the clouds, just amazing. Some of the 'bolts' seem to land on rooftops off in the distance. I don't actually know for sure where [or if] they touch down but thankfully it's not as close as it seems. Then, almost as quickly as 'it' arrived, the storm seemed to move on across the desert to 'brighten' someone elses morning. Realizing it's the weekend, way too early to get up, I might as well try to get another couple hours sleep. Back to bed I go.


Managed to pull off another hour or two of blissful slumber and then the ol' inner body alarm clock [self imposed guilt trip] says it's time to get up. As I started about my day [turned the computer on, made some coffee, the usual] that's when it hit me. "Ooooohhhhh, what's that smell?" Semi familiar but yet strange, hard to place it. I know I've smelled it before but not sure when or where. All of a sudden it comes to me, that's the smell of the desert after a good soakin'! An odd mixture of ingredients that all seem to come together into an intoxicating elixur of good feelings. Not sweet, not sour, more of a 'new and improved' type of smell. Very difficult to describe but it brings to mind [for me anyway] a feeling of a 'fresh start'. A brand new day, a new beginning.


Wow, maybe today's the day? Who knows what could happen? Maybe today's the day I meet Ms. Right? Get that incredible new job!! Gotta dream big, right? Adios negativity, I don't have time for your crap! Everything just seems more positive and 'brand new'. Then I said to myself, "Thank you rain, I needed that." I was definitely in need of a 'refresher course' to help remind me of all I have to be positive about and grateful for, that 'attitude of gratitude'. My eyesight, to see the lightning through the clouds. My hearing that enables me to hear the 'crack' of the thunder. My legs that enable me to run outside [next time I'll be sure to put my shorts on first], all those things and more.


So this is for everyone out there searching for a reason to be grateful, a 'fresh start' of sorts, a reminder that today is the first day of the rest of their lives. Just take a walk outside, really take a look around you and I believe you'll see just how beautiful this world really is. Mmmmmmm, what a wonderful smell....