Wishing for rain to come

In this very hot and humid weather, we all wished for rain to come. We already had our umbrellas and raincoats packed ready just for that rainy day. Even our hearts wished to see rainy days. Conversations go from "Hello, good morning" to "Bloody weather so hot, when is it raining?". Below are some of the conversations that I took note:


"Oh, it had been sooo long since it had last rained, so a rain should be coming soon. Mark my words!"


"The change in the weather and the drop in the seasonal winds indicate that rain will come, and very soon, within plus minus 2 weeks from now. Our weather charts here and here shows the inevitability of this. Bring your umbrellas! Don't say we didn't warn you! You first hear it from us before all the other weather forecasters say it!"


"When it finally rains, I'll carry my brand new umbrellas that I bought so long ago! It had been wrapped in its plastic coverings since I bought it but never had the chance to use it. I even had my special raincoat that I bought, also long time ago, just for this long awaited rain. I'm very sure my umbrella and raincoat is more than enough to survive any rainstorm that comes. Come and hit me!"

Some people are so sure that their raincoats and umbrella can withstand whatever rain that will come. I don't know. I've seen really bad weather before and I was caught out with a broken umbrella and non water proof shoes. Usually I wear boots that can withstand 30 mins of mild rain hitting on it, without my socks getting rain. But that particular day, I still remembered, the wind was so strong that it blew my umbrella inside out! The wind practically made the rain go horizontally, so it didn't really matter if I'm bringing an umbrella or not. My shoes didn't disappoint, but in my haste to correct my upended umbrella, I stepped into a puddle of water that is caused by that intense rain. It didn't matter if my boots can take 30 mins of rain - it just got soaked straight through. And guess what, while walking on the road, a car zoomed past a big puddle of water and soaked my clothes in muddy water.


I learned from that lesson. When it's raining heavily, I watch out for that puddle of water by the roadside. I will use my umbrella to shield my side that faces the road with the puddle on it, and let the rain fall onto me from above. Rather clean rain than muddy water! My umbrella is titled towards where the wind blows so that it will not upend itself in the strong wind. Heck, I even make sure that the metal part of the umbrella is made of sturdy steel rather than the cheaper aluminium. I always carry an umbrella with me in my bag, no matter how many people say that I look so unfashionable carrying a teenager's secondary bag instead of a more up fashion corporate looking men's clutch bag. And yes, my shoes still can withstand 30 mins of rain but I learned to focus on not stepping on puddles of water simply because my boots are water proof. You know, sometimes we do silly things - just because we wear water proof watches, we purposely wash our hands with it. Tempting fate, I call it.


I know the rain will come eventually but I don't really wish for it. Some people will be caught in it, just like I did in the past. I'm still afraid of getting caught unprepared in the heavy rain but I no longer fear it. Hey, after all, it's just rain. I'm still alive, maybe a little wetter, but I'm still alive. That got to count, isn't it?