Rain, rain, go away!

I don't know how many of you have heard, but we've been having tremendous rain storms here lately. Yesterday, Saturday, we got somewhere between 7 and 12 inches of rain. I love thunderstorms, but after hearing them for twelve or so hours, I was ready for a break. We lost power for a few hours yesterday evening, too, which was a not-so-welcome surprise. Apparently, a lot of the city lost power; electricity was the exception instead of the rule last night. Anyway, we're all safe and sound here at my house, but I'm kind of glad we live an hour or so away from the Mississippi River. The local river, the Zumbro, hasn't yet crested, and it's supposed to keep raining all week long. Fortunately, we don't live by the Zumbro, but it's still a concern. Several years ago, Rochester had major flood control work done on the river, both downtown and through other parts of the city, and it really seems to be paying off now. Many places have flooded, but we haven't had the type of problems other cities are having. For a link, see http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20346539/. It makes me realize how fortunate I am to live where I do and to have been protected from all of these calamities. I'm still in a little bit of shock. I mean, you read about all of these sorts of things happening somewhere else, and you don't really expect that they will happen to you. What with the bridge collapse and this weekend's flooding in Minnesota, and the mine collapse in Utah, it brings to mind how fragile life really is. I'm happy to report that it's currently not raining, nor is it thundering or lightening right now, and we're all praying that the weather forecasters are going to be wrong this coming week. It's predicted to rain until next Saturday or Sunday. Heaven help us all.