No Longer Dry

Posted byrandy@letters-to-rachel.memorialPosted inAdrift in the World, The Best of Intentions, Updates From the Abandoned PlanetTags:, , , , , , , , , ,

Dearest Rachel –

Well, the rains finally came; and when they did, they came pouring down. It would be just when I get through telling you about how they skipped past us, making a liar out of me.

I had finished getting my computer hooked up in the classroom yesterday afternoon, when the roof – which is constantly sounding like it has raindrops falling on it, due to the effects of the tin contracting and expanding with the weather (not sure if it’s the heat or the barometric air pressure) – began to sound off with a much more frequent, and louder, noise. Now I know the difference. I snapped this shot from the classroom, and already the foliage in back of the main building is obscured by the falling rain.
Within minutes, the rain had turned into a torrent; the clinic building that’s under construction in the front of the property is pretty well obscured here, and the water tower next to it is all but invisible through the sheeting rain.
Fortunately, the cafe has plenty of warming, caffeinated beverages to allow one to set aside the chill and give me the energy to finish preparing for class. And as it turned out, I needed it; the kids had so many questions that I was answering for well over an hour (much to Isaac’s own irritation, as I would respond with a wall of words that he couldn’t keep up with. The problem is, if I were to stop in the middle of any answer, I would lose my train of thought completely; I had to see it through every time. Fortunately, most of the questioners were asking me stuff in English, so they could translate both their question and my answer to the rest of the class. Frankly, they really did the bulk of the teaching).

I can’t say that I’m looking forward to the No Hungry Home walk in this slop tomorrow; even though the rain eventually let up, the roads are going to be absurdly muddy. At least this time around, I brought my hiking boots, so I should have better purchase on the ground.

I’ve also not bothered with the garbage bags or the grabbing pole, since that really didn’t work out last time around. It still feels like a pity; one would think that clearing the roads of rubbish could go a long way toward increasing civic pride, but this is one of those battles that just doesn’t seem to be worth fighting – or rather, it’s not one I can or should fight.

Regardless, that’s a concern for tomorrow, rather than today. Today has enough trouble of its own without having to spend useless effort worrying about such things that are, in the end, beyond controlling, anyway. And we made it through the day, so there’s that. Not that I should be patting myself on the back for things going so smoothly; anything that worked out ought to be credited to God, not me, and I need to constantly be reminded of that, and just be grateful. Still, I hope to have more to say on the subject later on, honey.

For now, I just needed to send you this quick missive, especially since, as the rains come down, I had this little bit of inspiration to start, so now I need to finish it before the day is over and I have to work on another topic for the morning. So until then, keep an eye on me, and wish me well; I’m going to need it.

Published by randy@letters-to-rachel.memorial

I am Rachel's husband. Was. I'm still trying to deal with it. I probably always will be.

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