April Showers

Photo courtesy of Midnight

“April showers bring May flowers…”

I forget the rest of the lines to that saying, or maybe there aren’t any. Anyway, spring flowers are growing like gangbusters in Southern California right now, as they have been since mid-February. Although strong, El Nino-fueled weather systems were predicted to hit California this year, most of the heavy rain (and “wintry feeling) headed up to and stayed in Northern California, Oregon, Washington and the western coast of Canada. Instead, grass, weeds and early blooms started blooming much earlier than usual. Even Death Valley National Park has been treated to a carpet of beautiful desert blossoms.

The unusual weather has also produced a phenomenon that I can’t remember experiencing since I was a student in London: April showers. I vividly remember the first time I was caught in one of those unexpected (to me) and unusual deluges. A friend and I were chatting in a park when the clear blue sky opened up and heavy drops of rain started to pelt down. For a woman who grew up in Southern California, this phenomenon definitely counted as a subconscious “unknown.” There was nothing in my conscious mind or subconscious experience—I knew you need clouds to produce rain!—that prepared me for that moment. Rain didn’t happen in Southern California unless there were plenty of clouds around. My friend just smiled at my bewildered expression and reassured me that it was just an April shower and would stop in a minute or so. Which it did, and then started again a little while later. From that day I learned to accept and expect rain to come down anytime and anywhere, including from a clear blue sky. Since I like rain and changes in weather, it was kind of fun to be in on Mother Nature’s annual seasonal joke.

To be honest, I hadn’t thought much about April showers until this February. My sister and I were coming back from a walk around her neighborhood when plump drops of water once again started to fall from a clear, blue sky. There were a few heavy rain-clouds nearby but definitely not overhead; nonetheless, we were in the middle of an “April shower.” Like me two decades previously, my sister looked completely puzzled and disbelieving as she gazed at the sky. “There aren’t even any clouds!” she said.

I was treated to another April shower earlier this afternoon when I was at the barn, grooming my horse. Once again, there were some heavy clouds in the distance but overhead the sky was blue and spitting tiny drops of water. Galahad cocked a hind foot and nickered softly as I ran the shedding blade over his coat. I knew that the light shower would make his hair stick to my skin and clothes, but I didn’t care. It would be April in two days and these showers were a beloved rite of spring that I came to enjoy when I lived in England.

Anyway, all those spring blossoms need water to bloom, and I doubt there will be much more rain coming our way after this. Bring on those pre-April showers!

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

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