The forecast said thundershowers and I thought we’d have the same glancing torrent that we’ve had for months, bouncing off the parched earth and rolling away. But I awoke to the soft sound of droplets dripping off leaves and spattering on the sidewalk, the kind of rain that washes dust off the leaves and sinks into the soil. I can’t even remember when we’ve last had this kind of rain, sometime last spring, maybe. Long may it rain.