By Elisabeth Strillacci

I’m guessing we all know the observed meaning of the phrase “when it rains, it pours.” The idea is when one bad thing happens, others just pile on top.

The hubs and I are dealing with that right now — who knew selling property would be so difficult?

I thought the folks buying our beautiful, small home overlooking the intracoastal waterway that they will never lose because no one can build between them and the ICW would be happy about their purchase (at a really great price, I might add) and not have us jumping through hoops. I was wrong. But it’s OK, because in a week, it should be complete. And we will find a way through, because we always do. I am one who has faith in positive outcomes.

I am, however, fervently hoping that the pouring is now at its end, and there are no more raindrops, no more floodwaters coming my way.

Of course, I can seldom leave well enough alone, and when preparing to write this column, I searched for the origination of the quote “when it rains, it pours.”

To my amused surprise, it was not a wise person or even an actual person at all.

It was the tag line for an advertising campaign for Morton’s salt.

The company was looking for a way to tell shoppers that their salt didn’t clump, that even in moist air or humidity, the salt would still flow freely. The company added magnesium carbonate to its salt to prevent caking. It’s why you sometimes see grains of rice in salt shakers, to prevent the salt without the added ingredient from sticking together.

Morton’s came up with the image of a young girl under an umbrella in the rain. I know many of us are familiar with her picture as it is still in use. I’m not sure how many of us pay enough attention to that image that we notice the girl is pouring salt out behind her as she walks. The picture itself tells the whole story clearly: even in rain, this salt will pour smoothly. But to be absolutely sure, the company sought a line of words to hammer home the message.

Initially the lines accompanying that picture were longer, including “Even in rainy weather, it flows freely.” The company even considered an old proverb, “It never rains but it pours,” but eventually decided that phrasing was too negative.

And so they landed on the phrase that has become common today, though I doubt many of us think of it in association with salt.

I confess that in searching for the history of the phrase, I had a moment to let my stress level and temperature drop.

And that gave me the chance to get back to my balanced state, to my solid belief that all will be well in the end.

Which leads me to another quote that I appreciate: “Everything will be OK in the end; if it’s not OK, it’s not the end.” Usually attributed to John Lennon, it’s my reminder that in truth, life is usually not OK. It comes with troubles and challenges that resolve as others arise. Some are worse than others, but life is rarely, if ever, perfect. At the end of living is when troubles truly cease because you are not here to experience them. So don’t sweat the difficulties. Get on with enjoying life while you still have life.

Which means I’m taking a deep breath and accepting that these challenges will come to an end just as all others do, but it’s not the end of me, and so I will rejoice in having another day, and more troubles to address, because it means I am here to face them.

Elisabeth Strillacci is former editor of the Salisbury Post.