a good rain storm

Many of you know my dad. He can be described by many words -- intelligent, hard working, dedicated, honest, loyal, caring, diplomatic, wise, spiritual, driven, dependable, strong. New sons-in-law or interns or employees might also describe him as intimidating or scary. One describing word that is not thrown around too often about him, however, is handy. He is not necessarily known for his DIY home improvement or maintenance projects. Sure he was good for changing light bulbs and once he did actually build some shelves in the garage. But when I dropped a ring down the bathroom sink, roto rooter was quickly called to extract it from the trap.

There was, however, one job that he regularly performed, and frankly must have enjoyed given how willing he was to hire out most other projects. Every year with the first big rain storm, he'd put on his old jeans and tennis shoes, pull out his ladder, and clean out the gutters. He'd pull out all the leaves and pine needles and gunk, and when he was done he'd come in completely drenched and looking rather pleased with himself for the good dose of manual labor.

So imagine my happy nostalgia when I witnessed Scott out in the rain this morning: