Rain

It was 6 in the morning, and the room was unusually dark. We'd been nursing for about 40 minutes, so you were slowly drifting back to sleep. Suddenly it started, tiny drum beats from afar. You opened your eyes and listened as the sound approached. When the droplets of water danced on our roof, you looked up at me, wide awake and alert, as if to ask, "What's that sound, mommy?" I said, "That's the rain, baby." I ran my hand through your hair, "What you hear is the rain."

Then you fell asleep, content and satisfied. I held you in my arms and started listing all the fun things associated with the rain. Just to name a few, all the colorful rain gear, making a big splash in so many different ways... and after a warm bath, we'll cuddle under a blanket with a good book and a cup of hot cocoa. And then I remembered the T-shirt auntie Ya-Chun designed for Threadless (check out a bigger better picture at Threadless) and thought, "On days when we don't want the rain to come, we'll make some teru-teru-bozu."

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As a side note: your auntie Ya-Chun and I were both in the choir in elementary school, but we didn't really know each other then. I only learned about her in 6th grade because my best friend at the time liked a buddy of mine in the next class, but when I went to tell him about it, he told me that he was secretly in love with your auntie Ya-Chun. Understandably, I saw Ya-Chun as "the enemy" and started giving her dirty looks at choir practice (though I don't think she noticed). Then as Fate had it, Ya-Chun and I were in the same class in high school, and we've been best friends ever since. We've shared some pretty awesome experiences growing up. Ya-Chun and I both moved to the Pacific Northwest in our early 20s. She graduated from the Seattle Art Institute and is now working as a freelance graphic designer. She and her husband Erik live in Seattle. Oh, I'm sure Uncle Erik would love to tell you all about beer and barbecue when you're old enough.

Before I get completely off track, this is what auntie Ya-Chun said about her design:

"Teru-teru-bozu is a Japanese weather doll — usually hand-made with tissue or cotton, hung by a string at the edge of the roof, or by the window — kids make them to wish for sunny weather before a school picnic day.

It's with the most innocent intentions these dolls were made, but I often wonder how they really feel, beneath the sweet smiles; after all, they're literally being "hanged" and left out in the rain for days a a time. I hope this design successfully captures some of that irony, the sweetness and the loneliness, of teru-teru-bozu.

p.s. the kanji (Chinese) character used in the design means "rain."