Reminiscing in the rain....

Lately, with all of this rain, I have been reminiscing about my childhood in Louisiana. When the rain came, we went outside (when I say "we", I mean my mom's piano students who I played with while they waited for their turn). We had a huge patio that stretched the length of the house and had a tin roof over top. The rain was so loud, but so relaxing. The thunder would rattle the entire house and usually we had to turn up the TV so we could hear it over the grape-sized rain drops pounding on the roof. If we got caught out in the yard, we could usually take shelter under the canopy-like trees. The yard was surrounded by HUGE oak, magnolia, and pine trees. Our "bushes" of azalea - they were enormous. So big in fact, that I would oftentimes just go into them and sit on the low lying branches - they were big... and I was small :)
>>>> and I'm pretty sure our house got rolled (T.P.'d) at least twice a year by the high school cheerleaders - Mark was "Mr. Popularity"!<<<<

I remember, after big thunderstorms, everything seemed to have a tint of orange. The frogs and locusts would go crazy - that sound is still one of my favorites; croaking frogs and chirping locusts.

I loved that house. We ONLY had one wood burning fire place in the family room to heat the entire house. My dad would get up super early and go out for logs and I would usually be awake and just watch him start the fire with his kerosene soaked kindling. In the winter, my mom would put hot coals in a pan and warm our sheets so we wouldn't immediately freeze in bed! In the summer, us younger kids would always sneak into our parents' room at night and sleep on the floor because they had the good air conditioner (only window units in this house). We didn't have central heat until the year we moved - and I'm pretty sure we only got it to help the resale value of the house.

Sometimes it seemed like we were packed into that house like sardines - I don't remember what it was like when I was REALLY little, but I remember when there were 9/10 people, 4 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms. Most of those people were male... and they had their own bedroom and bathroom to themselves on the complete opposite side of the house from the other rooms. While it tended to be stinkier back there, they had an awesome setup. The garage was converted into a bedroom when my parents bought the house (it had to hold 7 boys). They had a weight bench, pool table, bunk beds... It was just a cool room --- with no door (they had to take out the whole frame to fit the pool table through the opening and just never put it back!).

We had an awesome backyard with a VERY nice and sturdy swing set - not like these cheap ones with the hollow metal posts and plastic, flimsy seats. Ours was great. We had a trampoline and lots of room for running. My dad's shed (or shop... depending on which kid you talk to) was like a giant shop of mysteries! We only messed around in there when he was out of town, but when we did... The scrap wood always got used!!

We had lots of rabbits for a long time. They were kind of mean, but a few were so nice and we would get them out and play with them. I got attached to a few and they were usually the ones that ended up on the dinner table :( without my knowledge!!! My brother had one rabbit that he named Jemimah. Jemimah had a baby that we named Butthead (Andrea, ask Daniel if that's right). We were kind of white-trash (not really, but it was so fun to be a Southerner!).

I only have happy memories of that house but I also remember being SO excited to move and start over somewhere else. But then sitting there, the morning we left... staring at the empty rooms - it was heartbreaking. I never realized how much I loved that place. Sometimes, when I hear certain songs, I'm taken back to my room - my walls COVERED in pictures of Hanson, N'Sync, Backstreet Boys, Leonardo DiCaprio.... sitting in my blue inflatable chair (I was 12... what do you expect?!).

I always think about going back - of course it won't be at all the same, but still....

When we moved, I was so ready to be done with the rain and for YEARS I hated it when it rained. 10 years later, I am finally starting to like it again. Funny how one small part of Mother Nature can bring back 12 years worth of memories, huh?