It's raining, it's pouring!

I love the rain! I love the sound of pitter patter on the roof! I love seeing the windows wet and dripping with big raindrops. I love the smell of the grass and the ground getting wet. I love bringing out my sweaters and long sleeves. I love curling up in bed, reading a good book while sipping hot cocoa.

However too much of a good thing is definitely not good. It hasn't rained this hard in Cagayan de Oro since the 80's. So many homeless people because of the flash floods, so many crops destroyed, so many lives affected. This is probably Mother Nature warning us about getting into our senses and respecting the environment. Oh, when will man ever learn?

Two days before we arrived from Manila, Cagayan de Oro was a disaster. The river overflowed and many were rendered homeless. The Reyna del Rio (a floating restaurant by the Carmen bridge) was nowhere in sight. We thought our flight would be cancelled but thank God we made it home just in time before school started the next day. We surveyed the areas on our way to my mom's place, where we were having dinner, and were shocked to see many people outside their wet homes, trying to dry their wet furniture. The waters have subsided but you can see up to where the waters rose. We could only shake our heads in disbelief.

Last Sunday, we woke up to steady pouring rain that did not stop the whole day. This was worse than last week's experience. Strong winds howled as the rains did not let up. Mier had to go outside to untie our laundry lines so we could close our windows properly. My mom's house had waters coming in steadily and despite their tired arms and aching backs, they spent hours trying to control the water flow to lessen the damage.

Schools cancelled classes yesterday, something that has never been done before. I remember when I was in college more than 10 years ago, classes were never suspended due to rains. I used to be proud to say that Cagayan de Oro is never in the path of typhoons because it is protected by the mountains all around. What happened then? My guess is as good as yours.

Today, it continues to rain although the intensity is not as great. I pray that it would stop soon for the sake of all those affected by it.