Today was day two of summer showers in the Nashville area — today had more “severe” storms than yesterday, featuring golf ball-size hail and heavy downpours — which has kept temperatures in the 70s and made the atmosphere crystal clear.

It’s been lovely. Call me crazy, but I love a good downpour. (As long as its not featuring tornadoes, and I don’t like hail.)  I love how clean everything gets. Rain makes the grass green, makes flowers bloom.

I love the way the sound relaxes the body. I haven’t heard rain on a tin roof in a long time, but I remember it being a glorious sound. I’ll occasionally play a rainfall sound to help sleep come quickly.

This morning, I was awakened by the roll of thunder. I opened my eyes, and I realized the bedroom was as dark as night. I rolled over. I closed my eyes. I drifted back into a deep, deep sleep.

I sipped coffee to rainfall. I snuggled a shaking cat as thunder got particularly loud mid-afternoon. I ducked back inside away as yet another storm chased me away from photographing beautiful pink and purple sunset skies.

All day I wished I could send the rain back home to Texas, where the drought is awful. My parent’s lawn has ceased to even exist for lack of rain. Dust covers every surface. Their dog seeks the cooling effects of a small kiddie pool, while rain stays away and temperatures have hit the 100s. I felt a little guilty for enjoying a rainy, lovely day here in Nashville.

Tomorrow temps will probably be back in the 90s. The cool, fresh weather just a memory. Lawn mowers will fire up, and the water bottle will be refilled multiple times. Summer is here and it’s not going anywhere soon. I’m just glad I got the opportunity to enjoy today for all its cleansing goodness.