Worse Than a Curse Word

"Rain, rain, go away, come again another day..." our four year old sweetheart sang as she ate her breakfast this morning.

I stopped my cereal pouring. Joe halted in his tracks.

"WHAT?" we asked simultaneously.

We were probably a little harsh in our tone, stopping this sweet girl in her song, but after weeks of no rain and a terribly, even dangerously, hot week, we are desperate for rain.

Remember those bullets I thought we had dodged earlier this summer? Well, that thought is coming back to haunt me.

So this conversation and a few tears from my darling daughter, got me to think. In a farmer's life, what's worse than a curse word from a farm kid's 's mouth? The wish for no rain.

This is new for me. I was baptized (literally and figuratively) by fire with a huge rain storm on my wedding day. As I looked out the windows of our church, praying that it would stop raining for the grand exit, hoping that I would be showered with rose petals, not rain drops, I was told by my mom, a late in life farm wife..."Never, ever curse an August rainshower."

Great.

So, it poured on our wedding day...so loudly that people still talk about the fact that they couldn't hear the pastor's message or our vows during the ceremony. And our video, shot from the rafters of the metal and steel building --sigh-- it's a beautiful picture, but the sound is something to remember...or forget.

But I digress. Here we are, nearly eight years after that day, and I'm just now getting the message. We need rain. And we need all the good rain vibes we can get. So we have put the stop to all nursery rhymes that ask for rain to go away. When Anna had a t-ball game cancelled due to rain, we didn't pout. Tonight's Vacation Bible School at our church would probably go off a lot smoother if it was not raining, but we are not worrying about that.

We need rain. I will do a rain dance if I have to in order to keep it going.

Because what's important at this moment in our farm life is rain, and no one better cuss it today!