Umbrellas be damned

I'd never lived in a place where rain is a tell tale sign that it's summer, until I moved to New York and learned how to click my heals between cloudbursts. It instantly became my favorite thing about summer in the City, and is one of the top reasons why I don't believe in umbrellas. You miss out on all the good parts if you take cover! There's nothing like getting caught in a torrential downpour on the way to a birthday party, with a small child holding each of your soaking hands and laughing all the way. Or snuggling up in bed with the window cracked while thunder sets off car alarms and vibrates bed springs as lightening flashes into your dreams at 2am. Puddle jumping and pretending rain drops are lemon drops is what makes the magic of those moments never cease. No matter how many times they happen. And then, just when you can't get any wetter, and you're sure a building might topple over, it stops just as suddenly as it started. That's when the sun leaps out from behind a cloud, oblivious to ever having been gone; the ultimate game of hide and seek, maintained by a consistent 73 degree climate. Yes, summer is here!

Tonight, on my way to catch the Hampton Jitney, a surprise torrential downpour hit. It was a gorgeous day, and then all of a sudden it was pouring rain. Flash flood warnings were being issued, drains were overflowing, and it even started to hail at JFK. Typical New York.
As the saying goes, "If you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes."
The problem with that is, you don't know what the next 5 minutes will bring....

5:48pm Blue sky, shining sun, delicious Maz Mezcal dinner for 2 on the outdoor patio.
5:53pm Light drizzle, a few gray clouds, faint mist.
5:58pm High speed winds, lashing rain, and a sopping Sarah.

I looked like this (my cousin Amaya was w/me & took this picture when she got home).

I've always loved the rain. Growing up it was my winter, and the background music the first time I fell in love. Now it's my summer, and the promise of happy surprises literally falling from the heavens. I LOVE New York rainstorms. In fact, I got caught in my very first one on the same block as the one tonight which brought back great memories!

This time I was about to board an air conditioned bus for 2 1/2hrs and I couldn't help but laugh and pray I didn't get pneumonia. Huddling under an awning with her 4yr old was a woman who used to live in NY and now lives in CA. As I sloshed up next to her, big grin on my dripping face, she turned to me and said,
"God I miss this! No one can understand how awesome this is unless they've lived here and been stuck in it. I'm so glad my daughter gets to experience this during our vacation. It's what I miss the most."
[Enter BOOMING thunder and thickening rain to the point where you couldn't see across the street]
"Wheeeeee!!!!" shrieked her little girl.
I nodded enthusiastically and said, "I KNOW!!!!!! It's my favorite!"

I could not have been more wet. It was as if I'd jumped in a pool (with my duffle bag, purse, and laptop) and then for kicks taken a shower right after that; fully clothed of course. Luckily I was wearing a black t-shirt. Un-luckily I was also in Berkenstocks and jeans, neither of which dry quickly. Yet I couldn't keep from smiling. Of course, as soon as I boarded the bus, the rain quit, the sun returned, and a rainbow appeared. I curled my soaking self up in 2 seats and by the time I arrived in the Hamptons it was as if I had just stepped out of the "high spin" cycle on a washing machine. Not dripping wet, but still needing to be thrown in the dryer.