Rain, rain go away?

So lately it has been raining all day, every day in Topeka for the last week and a half.  Almost everyone I talk to is hating the weather, but I love it. I can be described as a pluviophile.
                               
 Rain is so relaxing and calming to me. I can understand how people don't like the dark weather, or the fact that they get wet when they go outside, but I love the smell, darkness, and wet factor of rain. I honestly want to go to Ireland just to watch it rain.  
                         
                                             ( This is soooo beautiful to me.)

I also want to go to NYC in the rain.
                                          
The lights, the noises, the people, add some rain and New York is my dream destination.

I think that I like rain so much because I like the night. I am definitely a night owl, I don't normally go to bed until around 11:30. ( on the weeknights) But on the weekends, I stay up until 12:30 or later. This sounds weird, but I feel safe in my dark house, with only a few people awake, a cup of coffee, and a good book.  So when it rains, I do the same, drink coffee and read books while the members of my family nap.
To me rain seems life-giving, you can't have anything grow without rain. I also love the steady rhythm and the sweet fresh smell of the earth after rain.
 Let's just appreciate that someone took time to take beautiful pictures of rain,

                                

                                
                           
                                
                         
                                 
         
                                 

                                  

                                  
                           
                                  

                                  

Summed up in a quote, spoken by some anonymous person,
 " There is a quiet beauty found in nature when heaven weeps."
                                 
whistle while you work,
                               Emma

The Saint behind St.Patrick's day.

What normally comes to mind when you think of Saint Patrick's day? People wearing green, being pinched when they don't? A parade? A beer? A shamrock? Whatever you think of, it probably isn't the kind old bishop for whom the holiday is named.
                                  
It was always saddening to me when people would use St. Patrick's day as an excuse to get drunk, because it is all in the "name of Ireland."  Just like Saint Valentine and Valentine's day, St. Patrick's day means so much more than what people do to celebrate it.  So first, some history......

Saint Patrick was born sometime in the fifth-century in Great Britain. He was kidnapped by pirates and taken to Ireland as a slave. After six years of slavery and tending sheep, Patrick ran away and made his way back home. He became a priest, and then a bishop. He felt like God was calling him to return to Ireland and convert his captors. Eventually he was able to convert the druids and his captors.  ( more history here ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick )

There are several legends surrounding St. Patrick, how many of them are true I don't know, but I hope that they are.

Saint Patrick's day shouldn't be about drinking, it shouldn't be an excuse to waste money. It should be a day to remember the Patron Saint of Ireland with a Mass, a Rosary, or maybe even just a short prayer. I don't think one beer is bad, as long as you toast the good old Saint first. Also, while you are at it, offer up a prayer for Ireland because it isn't as Catholic as it used to be. In the true spirit of Saint Patrick, convert your captors and the druids!

Whistle while you work,
                                Emma