It is raining this morning.

It is raining heavily.

Apocalyptic rain, end of days style…pounding every dry inch of this part of the world into a soggy submission.  This rain is making its mark.

I woke up this morning to the sound of this heavy rain, and my first thought was “how’m I gonna keep all that mail dry?!”

Funny how that’s part of the first round of thoughts I have for the day.  I guess my job has made its mark on me.

One of the next thoughts I had…and the one I thought I’d base this blog on…was that I sure am glad that I can feel the discomfort of delivering in inclement weather.

( From what I understand, the PO didn’t start the old saying about “rain…or sleet..or snow” and the constancy and dedication of the mailmen….mail people ….out on the routes doing the “dirty work”.  Someone else outside the situation celebrated our dedication and hard work.  It sure sounds good, though…and the post office can use some positive publicity anytime it can get it. )

My route is what is called an “H” classification now.  That means that at the last count, I didn’t have enough mail to qualify me for a “J” route or….even nicer…a “K” route.

“Uhhhhhhhh….so what does that mean?” you’re thinking.

Well, what that means is that my job is a 6 day a week commitment.  I don’t get a day off with an “H” route.

The reason I mention this is because knowing what my schedule is, the chances of running the mail in the rain are about as good as it gets.

If it rains during the week, I’ll be there.

So….rain (or snow…or sleet) can be kind of a wild card depending on how heavy it is.  It changes the nature of the days work.

It can make life interesting.

My friend Garrett introduced me to a book called On the Loose while I was working at a camp down the road from where we now live.

There is a quote in the book that I always think about during inclement weather…whether it be on a hike or at work.

The quote is:

Take shelter under the cloud, while they flee to carts and sheds. Let not to get a living be thy trade, but thy sport. Enjoy the land, but own it not. Through want of enterprise and faith men are where they are, buying and selling, and spending their lives like serfs.    Thoreau

“Take shelter under the cloud”

My “discomfort”…and it’s such a minor discomfort in the big scheme of things…is that I’m going to get a little wet today.

It is going to be awkward to keep the mail dry.

It will be awkward to work a heavy volume Monday in the rain.

But I know that every thing that is hard in my life is just another opportunity to enjoy the days that are filled with sunshine.

The contrast is what gives the good days their power to be appreciated.

It’s no great revelation to remember that…but sometimes I have to think for a second to recall that some temporary irritation is just that…an only temporary irritation.

I’ve said it before…if I was a farmer I’d be loving this rain.

But I’m a mailman with an “H” route…so I tolerate it and appreciate what it can teach me about the deeper lessons and meanings of life.

Riggghhhhhttttt.  I’m gonna get soaked.