July 26, Tuesday
Rain is a way of life here. It makes the grass thick and soft and lush, and nudges the hydrangeas towards extravagance. In L.A. you don’t pay much attention to the weather. For the most part, your plans don’t change because of it because the weather doesn’t change.
Here, my mom checks the weather like I do traffic. She has the hourly forecast and the satellite map bookmarked. She can tell if rain is on the way and what time it should arrive. While making our plans for the day, we consult the forecast. Can we go swimming? Should I go to the grocery store now or wait till this afternoon? Do I need to bring in the clothes hanging on the line?
I’ve lived in Southern California so long that I was unprepared to change my plans due to rain. I just assumed I could wake up every morning and go for a walk and go hiking whenever I wanted to, but we had to wait a couple of days after heavy rain and flooding to go for a walk around the lake. Luckily, there was still enough gooey mud for the girls to play in and dig up worms.