Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day.

That refrain is from a popular English nursery rhyme that has been sung for centuries. There are many variations of the song, and it is often used to express a desire for rain to stop, especially when children want to go outside to play.

You’ve probably sung that song yourself over the years. I still do, every time it rains.

That song was likely sung by the ORU and OSU baseball teams and hundreds of children around Northeast Oklahoma, this past weekend.

I know that it is spring in Oklahoma, and that usually means a lot of rain. However, as I have said since I moved here in 1998, we have weather of the extremes. Either we have draughts and wildfires and are praying for rain, or we have tornados and flooding and pray for it to stop. Either we have 100-plus degree temperatures, making it difficult to spend much time outdoors, or we have ice, snow and single-digit temperatures causing schools and businesses to close for days.

There’s no moderation with the weather in Northeast Oklahoma.

This was the case this past weekend.

We saw tornado damage that ripped through houses and businesses in Owasso. We saw homes and businesses flooded by high water, and we saw many sports events that were rained out.

However, singing the song must have worked. ORU and OSU were able to salvage some games by playing doubleheaders on Sunday, and both teams swept their series with their opponents.

Somehow, the Tulsa Drillers were able to play all three of their scheduled games over the weekend without having to move any. Knowing that the attendance would be low because of the rain and cold temperatures, they did, however, move their promotions for Saturday’s game. A Drillers press release stated, “Due to the uncertainty of today’s weather & the cold temperatures, we have made the decision to reschedule the Drillers Hoodie Giveaway and Osage Tribal Night.”

The Hoodie giveaway is now scheduled for the afternoon game on Saturday, April 19th. The first pitch will be at 1:00 p.m. and gates will open at 11:30 a.m., with the 1st 2,000 fans receiving a Hoodie. In addition, fans 12 and under can enjoy Tulsa’s Largest Easter Egg Hunt on the field from 11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. that day.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m an assistant soccer coach at Summit Christian Academy, and last Friday evening we had a junior varsity boys game, plus girls and boys varsity games at Skiatook. Although the rain held off that evening, it was very cold, which temperatures in the mid-40s and there was a cold mist and a strong wind. The players generally have fun, at their age, playing in a game no matter what the weather is like, but for us older folks, standing on the sideline for five hours in that weather is not what I call fun.   I do it because I’m dedicated to the team and what we are doing at SCA. I enjoy sharing my knowledge with the young players and try to help them get better at the sport, while teaching them life lessons along the way.

In fact, this season, I’ve had more meaningful conversations with players, one-on-one, while just sitting on the bench during practice or a game, then I’ve had in the eight years I’ve been involved with this team. If I can encourage them, or inspire them, just a little bit, then I’ve fulfilled my purpose.

Rain or shine, we all must make do with whatever comes our way. Sometimes that means being inconvenienced by moving your schedule around, or having to suffer in the cold a bit, but we know that here in Oklahoma, if we “just wait a few minutes, it will change.”

Even if it does come again another day.

TULSA BEACON RADIO

Tune in to “Tulsa Beacon Weekend” radio show every week, featuring interviews with local and national level guests, talking about everything from politics to family issues. My guests this week will be Channing Harris and Mary Ellen Evans from Emergency Infant Services (rescheduled from last week). The show airs on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. CST on 970am KCFO.