Death is not worse pain than an empty life. -- Lun Tha

1. Neighbors come out with video cameras to watch the wind blow through the trees.

2. It sounds like someone’s throwing rocks at your house, but it’s only raindrops.

3. You let your kids have M&Ms and soda and you don’t bat an eye as long as they’re not complaining.

4. You fit a family of four into a closet – with pillows, a portable DVD player, a radio, blankets, and munchies – and figure you’re cozy.

5. You’re happy if the only things that hit your house are tree branches.

6. Rainwater makes a pond in your front yard and squirrels are surfing on the waves.

7. You fill your bathtub to flush your toilet.

8. You see not one but TWO storage sheds break your fences and fly across the yard – and neither of them belongs to you.

9. You have to write this list out in longhand on your child’s notebook paper because there is no power for the computer.

10. You know the danger is passing when some BRILLIANT radio personality plays: It Never Rains in California. And you can smile about it.