Speechless Sunday: Summer Rains and Petrichor

And with petrichor:

Rain on hot pavement. 

That's what has left me speechless today.

Here in Cincinnati, it's been a rainy few days. Rain, lightning, humidity, cool breezes and hot breezes and all sorts of things. It's made it rather difficult to pick an outfit for the day, and don't get me started on what the heat and humidity are doing to my hair! But I'm not here to complain. We all hear more than enough complaining, especially on the internet. I'm here to share what leaves me speechless and inspired.

This morning when my church service finished, we all made our way out of the auditorium and Sunday school classrooms to discover a total downpour outside. It was raining so hard you could barely see. Thunder rolled in the distance, and the rain came down so hard and fast that it overwhelmed the storm drains, turning the parking lot into a river.

People crowded around in the entry area, waiting for the rain to let up some before taking their nicely done hair and good church clothes out into the hurricane-rain. Young mothers hoped the kids wouldn't try to jump in puddles, men with umbrellas went out and drove their cars to the front entrance to pick up their families, elderly couples huddled together and rubbed their joints.

Soon it began to slow, and gradually the rain let up until it was merely sprinkling. And that, my friends, is one of my favorite moments in summer rainstorms. When the sun peeks out while the clouds are wringing themselves dry and steam rises from the hot, wet asphalt. 

The sharp, warm scent of ozone before the rain, the petrichor after, and the steam rising from the sun-heated roads and parking lots.

That's what has left me awestruck and inspired on this wet summer day.
-Cailey