Everyone keeps saying we are forecasted to have a wet winter. The rivers are dry so we need the winter to be wet. We need to fill them again if we are to sustain life in this state. However, some are panicking because if the wet comes in the winter it will likely be in the form of ice, and as everyone knows by now, when there is ice texans die. Pipes are not buried deep enough in the ground. No one here has any idea what the term “snow tire” refers to. Most ******** only sell windshield scrapers at select stores one month out of the year. The electric companies are not prepared for everyone to use the heat at once and their solution is always turn the electricity off preemptively so it doesnt turn off by itself when too many people use it at once. Then people whose fireplaces are just decoration begin freezing to death and a spokesperson comes on the news and recites some lawyer speak that basically amounts to “we’re deeply sorry that people are dead” and “its not our fault”.
I dont care whether the wet comes in the form of ice, snow, or rain. Im aware how bad the situation we are in is if rivers i have never seen the bottom of are dry and ive lived here nearly my whole life. we need water in the riverbeds and ill take it however i can get it.
This past week it rained a half inch to 2 inches pretty much every day. The guadalupe river near the homestead now has a couple of inches of water in it. Im not staring at dusty white rock. Im looking at shallow green water. That is comforting. That is a very comforting sight. We have so far to go before i can relax about this. We need this week’s rain 100 times over. Only God himself can know for sure what kind of winter we are going to have, and the weathermen are notorious for being wrong, but this is one of those times where i pray to God they are right. It is imperative we fill the bodies of water this year because the time tested pattern goes: 3 years drought…one year rain. We need a rainy year to gear up for the years of drought to follow. I hope to God they are right and i hope for our sake it keeps raining, snowing, and sleeting all winter.
If i take long-term survival out of the picture, the rain feels wonderful. The pressure change is wonderful. The raindrops, the mud, the smell of wet vegetation, the sound of pinging or roaring on the tin roof is wonderful! I just feel like my body has taken a huge breath of air and let out a deep sigh.
Since Covid i have struggled with chronic fatigue. The way i stay functional throughout the day is to take small naps in the car before i begin work, on lunch break, and before i drive home. I dont recommend going to the dealership i did but if i could say one positive thing about the company who manufactured my car i would have to give them credit for the extremely comfortable cradle shaped car seats. I recline the seat, lay flat on my belly, and rest my arms on the edges of the seat that curve around me. I try all day to tuck my buttocks in and walk in a way that will not contribute to the progression of my lordosis but when i sleep i just want to be comfortable. To sleep on my belly is not fantastic because it allows my spine to comfortably rest in deformity but it feels sooooo lovely. Lately i have been taking my naps on my belly against the comfortable cradling car seat that is just the right firmness and reclined at the perfect angle, beneath my jacket used as a blanket with the car off and at the perfect temperature for sleeping while listening to the pitter patter or the roar of rain falling on the roof and windshield. They have been the best naps! A whole week of perfect refreshing rain blessed naps. I wake up from my lunch break feeling like a million bucks, like ive had a week’s worth of rest…like i could conquer the world! There’s just no better way or place to sleep than on your lunch break in a car surrounded by darker lighting and rain. The overcast skies make it easier to sleep, the air smells intoxicating and you just feel good.
It has been a very enjoyable week. These were not pop up storms. These were big storm systems spread out over multiple cities over the state of Texas. You could watch them coming and going on the radar. These did not require chasing. These were the blanket kind that would come to you as you went about your day. Even though it wasnt anything crazy like when onion creek residents got ten inches of rain in one night and had to be evacuated from their rooftops by helicopter…this was real rain, measurable rain: enough to sit in a rain gage. It was exactly what i needed and im sure the earth beneath my shoes felt the same way.
