the rain

It rained in Athens today. Most people, had they been caught without an umbrella like I was, would have quickly decided to invest in one, especially considering the fact that this weather is supposed to last all week. I did not, however, reach this conclusion. On the contrary, I found the experience of walking home from Aderhold in the pelting rain quite thrilling. I took off my raincoat and wrapped my bag in it to keep all those hundreds-of-dollars-worth of textbooks dry and suitable for resale in December.

After a few minutes, I found myself running down the stairs between the music and art schools, splashing in the deep puddles of water that collected in the pavement's uneven places. I couldn't see myself, but I know I was just beaming. Fortunately, I didn't really see any other pedestrians, so I don't think I frightened anyone. I think they were all sensible enough to seek shelter and wait out the downpour. Just as I was walking into my building, I passed a girl that was heading out. Sopping wet, I couldn't help but smile an enormous mascara-running-down-my-cheeks smile at her. She smiled back.

I shivered with laughter as I caught myself habitually wiping the slippery soles of my chacos on the doormat in the threshold of my air-conditioned apartment building. I walked to the elevator, leaving a trail of rainwater in my path, and a puddle where I stood as I slowly ascended to the sixth floor. I let myself into our apartment, peeled off my soaking dress, pulled on some yoga pants and a t-shirt, wrapped my hair in a towel, put some water on the boil for a steaming pot of overly-steeped black russian tea, and sat down to write this.

She puts her hands against the life she had
Living with ignorance, blissful and sad.
But nobody knows what lies behind
the days before the day we die.
-The Avett Brothers, Die Die Die

This time last year, I was one of those sensible people that would have found a quiet vestibule in the closest building and sat down to read a textbook until the rain subsided. I was desperately attempting to transform myself into someone that I was never meant to be. I missed out on a lot of opportunities to walk in the rain because I was afraid of getting a little wet. But this year is already so different. I wanted to come back to school. Classes don't stress me out. Sometime in the last year I stopped micromanaging my schedule and my life. Yesterday I bought my first football tickets. As I reflect on these things, I find gratefulness welling up inside my chest. God is gracious.

I'm glad it's yoga day.