Monsoon

Last night we had a Bollywood moment. At the beginning of Lagaan there is a scene where the villagers see clouds appear on the horizon and break into song. (You can watch the opening song here.) Last night when the winds picked up and clouds started filling the sky, I wanted to sing and dance! After 24 straight days of above 100 degrees temperatures, I begin to understand a little how those villagers felt. (Of course, I'm thankful our very lives don't depend on whether or not the rain keeps our crops from dying.)

I was cleaning up after dinner when my two middle kids rushed inside, yelling "Dust storm! Dust storm!" My husband and I went outside. Dust was blowing everywhere and dark clouds started filling the sky. "This is it!" we thought. "The monsoon is here!" My 3 yo daughter twirled around in her princess dress and my 6 yo son started throwing rocks into the air. "I want to hit the rain," he explained. "Because it's coming," he further explained. (No, it doesn't make sense to me either.) Our oldest son ran around picking up Legos and toys. A few drops of rain started to fall. We secured our awning and started storing things away. But, just like in Lagaan, after a few cracks of thunder, the clouds dissipated. Maybe next time!

The official monsoon starts after three consecutive days of dew points of 55 degrees. The average start date is today, July 7. Yesterday we hit a dew point of 54 degrees. We are getting closer. The normal rainfall during the monsoon (which generally goes from July to September) here in the Phoenix area is just over 2 1/2 inches. We won't see the torrential rainfall like India does during its monsoon, but any rain is welcome at this point!