"How a Rain Jacket Changed My Life" (or "Because I Was Asked")

I have never wore a rain jacket or even toted an umbrella. I love the rain. If I get some on me, all the better. Getting wet in the rain is a luxury that goes along with not wearing make-up and not using hairspray.

However, there are limits to this freedom. It doesn't do you a lot of good to get completely soaked, especially when there is a chill in the air.

Before my trip to California, I was gifted a red raincoat. I was told rain showers were frequent where I would be visiting, and it was still the cool part of the year.

It did get a lot of use in California, but the real revelation came the other day when I was moving my goats. It was cool and raining, so I donned the raincoat and set about my errand.

After my chore was done, I just took a moment to stand in the rain. Under my hood I could hear the pit pat of the rain. It was like a muffled version of a memory I have of sleeping under a tin roof.

I am not sure how long I stood there...listening to the rain and watching it run down the front of my jacket and drip off my sleeves. It was a quiet moment with only the sound of the rain and me snuggled warmly in my coat.

I realized at that moment, what a gift I had just been given. I took a moment to stop. There was no thinking, no doing. Only quiet observation. I made up my mind that I should give myself more gifts like this everyday and not just on a rainy one.

So, I have. Just today, instead of doing yet another load of laundry, I sat on my porch back steps and just soaked up some sunshine. I listened to the birds, noticed the new green in my pots on the porch, and watched an industrious honey bee about his tasks.

It is easy for me to get wrapped up in getting it all done. There will always be something that needs to be done, but giving myself a break to just _be_ makes me better for all the rest of the day's happenings.

I guess it took a little red raincoat for me to realize that and, in that way, a raincoat changed my life.