rain chain

while driving an unfamiliar road last spring, I passed a house, well-kept and orderly, covered in neat gray siding, that was anchored by two slender rain chains, one on either side of house’s facade.

ah, a rain chain. I had first seen one  perhaps two decades earlier, on a house being built in an exclusive neighborhood near my previous home. I’d loved the idea back then, described to me as a Japanese rain gutter, and had filed it away under “luxurious things wealthy people might own.” sighting rain chains on this lovely, but not of mansion status, home, freed me to consider a rain chain something I, myself, might be able to acquire.

image seared in my mind, I began researching “rain chains,” and discovered that the cost wasn’t exorbitant, in fact, it was even quite reasonable. especially if one decides to treat oneself to things of beauty that makes his or her heart soar. it’s nearly impossible to put a price on joy.

I ordered a rain chain, and I ordered a copper basin to attach at the bottom to collect the rain. I’d read the installation instructions, and felt capable.

giddiness erupted when the package was delivered. I unwrapped the stunning, shiny copper chain and basin, heart on fire. an hour later, my gorgeous new rain chain ran from gutter to ground, shouting to the world my owner loves herself. 

over the months the copper has adopted a patina, as sun and moisture have draped themselves over the chain. and not two months into the chain’s life as part of my home, it gained a mate, now firmly attached to the other end of my home’s eastern frontage. they bring me joy. they emanate a lovely sound as rain pours through; they hold ice in graceful patterns. they add a whimsical note to my staid brick house.

joy is a word on my 2019 list, one of eleven words that serve as guideposts on this year’s journey. I find joy in hundreds of small things, and yet at times, forget how very much those things matter to me. my prayer to the universe is that I continuously remember to acknowledge and live the joy that surrounds me. as do those rain chains.