To Dance in the Rain

A thousand years ago it seems... when I was young. My memory is spotty now. Those days don't flit by so often now. I don't remember names or sequence. What I remember most is the feelings.

There were always the chores and the animals. There was no whining about what had to be done. The animals weren't going to feed themselves. You did what you were told, when you were told to do it. Things were simpler then. There was no disrespect to your elders. Because whatever punishment they might give you was nothing in comparison to the whipping you were going to get at home!

I loved school. When is the last time you heard a kid say that these days? And even though school was long and the hours of chores followed, I never felt much like I was missing out on things... until I got to be a teenager, that is. Hanging out with the dogs and horses, the chickens and pigs was just fine. There was no arguing in the barn. It was quiet there except for the animal sounds.

Winter was the hardest time having to shovel all the way out to the barn. And those dogs! I could see a hump in the snow where their doghouses were and had to shovel them out and let them free. I worried about that until I found out that the snow acted like insulation and that they were quite toasty in there. And boy oh boy, were they happy to see me! How I wish I could get that response from people.

In the Spring when the ground thawed I'd get to let the horses out. It wasn't safe for them out there in the ice and snow. They would be bucking up a storm getting the winter out of their bones. I loved how free they looked. Their eyes glowed in that sense of liberty.

And with the Spring came more chores. It was time to do the planting. I liked the vegetable planting, but I killed every flower I touched. But how I could get those tomatoes and cucumbers to grow!

April showers sometimes flooded our well though and then that just meant more work. We had to drive to the local spring and haul our water home. That was long before those collapsible five-gallon jugs. We had glass gallon jugs. You knew you did a day's work after hauling 100 gallons of water.

But in another sense I liked the showers. Whereas the horses loved to act out after the winter by jumping and running, I loved the smell of the Spring rains. Between chores I'd dance around in the rain oblivious to the fact I was soaking wet. The old mare was my version of Black Beauty and I was practicing the dance for when Prince Charming came trotting up to ask me to the ball being held at the castle. It's funny the things we remember, huh?

I'm still waiting... 100 years later... Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou, Romeo? Ah yes, to once more dance in the rain.