Kathryn Nicolai (5:15)
Good. April showers I'd brought along my umbrella today, and by the look of the skies this afternoon, it seemed like a wise choice. I had a little collection of umbrellas in the stand by my front door. I had the standard collapsible kind, the sort that folded up into an astonishingly small package and could be easily carried in a pocket or a bag. I had a couple of the long standard kind, black fabric and a curved handle and a neat snap to keep it folded when not in use. And I had a pretty pink one that I'd been given as a child. It was a bit bent from being included in lots of play. I remember swinging it around by its handle, leaning on it as I danced in my bedroom while imagining myself center stage in a Broadway show. Yes, an umbrella is an excellent prop, and one I still like to carry when I was out in the world, especially in the rainy days of spring. I'd selected one of the long standard ones today as I left the house. Its handle was unusual. Not a curved loop but a rounded end, something like a doorknob, but more slender. It was made of polished brass, a tiny globe with tinier continents embossed into the metal. It fit perfectly in my cupped palm as I walked with it, and I couldn't help but hum under my breath, I've got the whole world in my hand, and it felt like that today as I walked along the main street. The spring was real now, not fleeting, not disappearing for days at a time. There were crocus and daffodils breaking through the soil in the giant stone planter in the square in downtown. Some shops had their doors propped open to take advantage of the fresh air, and though the gray skies had me certain that rain was coming, it hadn't come yet. It had been a long winter, and the feeling of spring air in my lungs, the scents and sights of the new season, had me feeling cheery and grateful just to be on the street today. I turned down an alley and stopped to window shop. There were bouquets of roses and calla lilies already wrapped in pretty paper and tied with bows in the window of the flower shop. Along the bottom of the silly were a dozen small cacti in tiny pots, and I leaned in close to peer at one that had a minuscule pink flower on it. I wondered how often a cactus might flower and thought it most likely not an everyday happening. Yet here I was to witness it. I smiled at my luck. In the shop across the alley, a bicycle was being wheeled out the front door by a little kid and his dad. The kid was wearing a helmet so new there was still a tag dangling from it. He jumped with excitement to climb onto his new bike. His dad put on his own helmet and climbed on to an older, well used bike parked in the rack. I heard dad say they could go through the park on their way home and ride through the neighborhood of old houses behind the library and probably still make it home before the rain came. I watched them ride off and thought I should get my old roller skates out of the basement when I got home. It had been a few years, but I bet I could still T stop and V start and flamingo with the best of them. At the corner was a shop that sold bird baths and wind chimes and bird feeders. Giant sacks of bird seed were stacked beside the door, and I strolled over, liking the way the point of my umbrella clacked against the bluestone walkway. This little shop was set back away from the street a little. It had been a mechanic's shop when I was a child, and it still had its garage doors, which were slid open today, where cars waiting to be worked on had been parked years ago. The pavement was replaced with soft ground cover and pavers. Two small trees were growing up on either side of the yard, and their branches were full of birdhouses and wind chimes. Inside the old shop, a very faint scent of car oil and tools lingered, and I remembered standing in the same spot years and years before, holding my mom's hand while she dropped off the keys to our car for an oil change. I hadn't minded tagging along for the errand even as a little kid, knowing that the half hour while we waited would almost certainly involve a trip to the ice cream shop in the next block. As I stood reminiscing, looking at the bird baths and garden statues. I heard the wind chimes outside begin to ring. There must have been a dozen of them playing in the wind, and I gripped tighter the handle of my umbrella, knowing what it must mean. The April showers were coming any minute now. I stepped back out onto the street and turned toward the cafe, thinking that if it were going to rain, I'd love the armchair by their big front window and a cup of something hot to enjoy while it did. I'd made it back up to the main street when the first drops began to fall. After months of snowflakes, the sound of the rain actually made me laugh. I'd forgotten it. I let it fall on my face and my outstretched hand for a moment, then opened my beautiful umbrella and swung it up over my head. The outside of this umbrella was classic black F nothing that would make you guess what was hidden inside. I looked up into it standing there on the corner and smiled. A starry night looked back at me from inside the little bubble of space. A moon rising, a galaxy of stars lighting up the purple and deep blue fabric sky. The sound of the rain falling on it was cozy and like listening to it fall on the roof when you're tucked up snug in bed. I steered through the street, wondering if the hopeful bikers had indeed made it home by now. If not, I hoped they rode through a few good sized puddles. I ducked under the awning at the cafe, collapsed my umbrella, and gave it a good shake before going in and sliding it into the rack by the door. My favorite chair was open and the place smelled of roasted beans and tea leaves. Welcome April showers. I was glad they were here. April showers. I'd brought along my umbrella today, and by the look of the skies this afternoon, it seemed like a wise choice. I had a little collection of umbrellas in the stand by my front door. I had the standard collapsible kind, the sort that folded up into an astonishingly small package and could be easily carried in a pocket or bag. I had a couple of the long standard kind, black fabric and a curved handle and a neat snap to keep it folded when not in use. And I had a pretty pink one that I'd been given as a child. It was a bit bent from being included in lots of play. I remember swinging it around by its handle, leaning on it as I danced in my bedroom while imagining myself center stage in a Broadway. Yes, an umbrella is an excellent prop and one I still like to carry when I was out in the world, especially in the rainy days of spring. I'd selected one of the long standard ones today as I left the house. Its handle was unusual, not a curved loop but a rounded end, something like a doorknob, but more slender. It was made of polished brass, a tiny globe with tinier continents embossed into the metal. It fit perfectly in my cupped palm as I walked with it, and I couldn't help but hum under my breath, I've got the whole world in my hand, And it felt like that today. As I walked along Main Street. The spring was real now, not fleeting, not disappearing for days at a time. There were crocus and daffodils breaking through the soil in the giant stone planter in the square. In downtown some shops had their doors propped open to take advantage of the fresh air, and though the gray skies had me certain that rain was coming, it hadn't come yet. It had been a long winter, and the feeling of spring air in my lungs, the scents and sights of the new season, had me feeling cheery and grateful just to be on the street today. I turned down an alley and stopped to window shop. There were bouquets of roses and calla lilies already wrapped in pretty paper and tied with bows in the window of the flower shop. Along the bottom of the silly were a dozen small cacti in tiny pots, and I leaned in close to peer at one that had a minuscule pink flower on it. I wondered how often a cactus might flower and thought it most likely not an everyday happening. Yet here I was to witness it. I smiled at my luck. In the shop across the alley, a bicycle was being wheeled out the front door by a little kid and his dad. The kid was wearing a helmet so new there was still a tag dangling from it. He jumped with excitement to climb onto his new bike. His dad put on his own helmet and climbed onto an older, well used bike parked in the rack. I heard dad say they could go through the park on their way home and ride through the neighborhood of old houses behind the library and probably still make it home before the rain came. I watched them ride off and thought I should get my old roller skates out of the basement when I got home. It had been a few years, but I bet I could still T stop and V start and flamingo with the best of them. At the corner was a shop that sold bird baths and wind chimes and bird feeders. Giant sacks of bird seed were stacked beside the door and I strolled over, liking the way the point of my umbrella clacked against the bluestone walkway. This little shop was set back away from the street a little. It had been a mechanic's shop when I was a child, and it still had its garage doors, which were slid open today. Where cars waiting to be worked on had been parked years ago. The pavement was replaced with soft ground cover and pavers. Two small trees were growing up on either side of the yard, and their branches were full of bird houses and wind chimes. Inside the old shop, a very faint scent of car oil and tools lingered, and I remembered standing in the same spot years and years ago, holding my mom's hand while she dropped off the keys to our car for an oil change. I hadn't minded tagging along for the errand, even as a little kid, knowing that the half hour while we waited would almost certainly involve a trip to the ice cream shop in the next block. As I stood reminiscing, looking at the bird baths and garden statues, I heard the wind chimes outside begin to ring. There must have been a dozen of them playing in the wind, and I gripped tighter the handle of my umbrella, knowing what it must mean. The April showers were coming any minute now. I stepped back out onto the street and turned toward the cafe, thinking that if it were going to rain, I'd love the armchair by their big front window and a cup of something hot to enjoy while it did. I'd made it back up to the main street when the first drops began to fall. After months of snowflakes, the sound of the rain actually made me laugh. I'd forgotten it. I let it fall on my face, an outstretched hand for a moment,
