Rain, Rain, Go Away

Stolen from Facebook

In Michigan, mid-April doesn't always mean gentle, April showers bringing May flowers.

Anybody in Michigan knows that when it comes to the weather, just wait five minutes. Then, you can decide if it's time for umbrellas or snow shovels, or both.

Blizzard of '78
www.absloutemichigan.com

Winters in Michigan used to mean mountainous piles of snow, more than 3 snow days allotted per school district per year - and we used those 3 days and then some - and Norman Rockwell-esque visions of apple-cheeked children sledding downhill or making perfect figure-8s on outdoor rinks.

Snow, as seen at the right, was the standard.  

As a kid, I remember Easters spent up north with the grandparents and wearing winter coats and winter boots to church.  By the time we drove home, about 3 hours away, the weather was warmer, the grass greener, and people stared at us like we were from outer space because there was still snow on the car.  

As a kid, I remember trick-or-treating while wearing a winter coat.  The criteria for costumes included, "Will it fit over a winter coat?"  

As a kid, I remember snow on Thanksgiving day - even if it was just a dusting, it was there.  

As a kid,  the Blizzard of '78 was a big deal.  My siblings and I would blearily tromp downstairs for breakfast and my mom would say, "Go back to bed - you have a snow day."  This went on nearly every  Monday for about six weeks.  Imagine our disappointment when the Monday came and we actually had to follow through with the morning routine of getting ready for a full school week.

Now that I'm an adult, winters are a different kind of cold, not nearly as snowy, and not nearly as much fun.

Winters are just plain long.

In recent years, it seems like snow doesn't fall until January whereas when I was a kid, we had snow in November - though I do vividly remember roller skating outdoors on Christmas day one year, wearing a sweater instead of snow pants and a winter jacket.  Oh, and grandma's eccentric neighbor was cutting his grass on Christmas day.

In recent years, it seems like there's very little snow spread out throughout the winter season, and the winter season wraps up with heavy rain fall for weeks at a time.  Enough so, that my daughter's friend says, "It reminds me of the rainy seasons back in Vietnam!"  

flooded area park
www.wnem.com

What I'm seeing in my area right now is akin to what's in the photo at the left.

A former neighbor from up north is looking at weather more like the photo at the head of this post, "We don't get hurricanes."

We both live in Michigan - though in different areas.  My former neighbor is spending her spring break shoveling snow.  I'm spending mine trying to dry out my basement.  And hoping that the flurries I see in the air today are not going to accumulate in any great amount, unless it will net me a snow day come Monday.  That's one thing I still look forward to, even if I'm not a kid anymore.

Even when it comes to weather, we always want what we don't have.  I'll try to remember this weather when it's July here in Michigan, 98-degrees Fahrenheit in the shade, and humid as a tropical rain forest with no hope for rain in sight.  For now though, April snow and showers bring May flowers.

www.wallcoonet.com