Is Someone Trying to Tell Us Something?

I don’t know what to make of this, but it’s so discouraging when the weather just beats you down. We did our sixth market and man was the weather awful. It’s disappointing because you work hard all week preparing for that day, and you feel you’ve done all that you can, and then the weather just slams you. It makes you wonder if there’s a message in there.

This past week we were so on top of things, and we were ready to rock and roll. The morning of the market it was even pleasant, and the forecast said it would be cloudy but the chance of rain was small. Boy were they wrong, the rain was of biblical proportions. It rained so hard that the courtyard started to flood, and I was beginning to wonder if we would all float away. At some point you’re standing under the tent telling yourself how stupid this all is. So not worth it. Of course, nobody showed up. What’s crazy is that you think (hope?) that it’s just a passing thing and the sun will come up and dry everything out, and often this is the case, but not this time. It rained hard, and we’re talking deluge, for about 20 minutes. We got so soaked, and all of our stuff was sopping wet.

If there’s a bright side to it, it’s that the kids had fun playing in the rain. There are some kids that come to the market with their parents, and N played in the rain with them, as did A, though she tends to help more on the business end. We bring N’s bike with us, so he can ride around and look cool, which we all know is very important to a boy.

By the end of the market, we were soaked and discouraged, and ready to go home. The bad weather never let up, which for the record is unusual, but it’s been an unusual summer, and everyone in this area is suffering for it. We have been watching the Ken Burns documentary about the dust bowl, and though our experiences pale in comparison to the amount of suffering they endured, there are certain analogies, mainly in terms of the weather. They got slammed in the Plains during the drought, but every year they stuck it out and hoped that things would get better, only to be disappointed. It’s a heartbreaking story, but one of resilience.

Makes me feel embarrassed that I’m even complaining, but of course, that won’t stop me. Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to michael baumann for the pic.