It rained today, and wow did it rain. Huge raindrops that actually made a sound upon impact. And the rain came of our nowhere, despite the ominous sky that had been lurking most of the morning. One second we were all dry and the next moment we were getting soaked.
I had the good fortune of being smack dab in the middle of unloading two kids and a basketful of groceries when the skies opened. A lovely gentleman asked me if I needed help but I laughed and told him I wasn’t melting anytime soon. He smiled, wished me a good day and moved on. Nice man. J I hope someone does something very nice for him today.
Ever since the kids were beyond the really tiny infant stage, where you really do have to protect them from the elements, I have been on a mission to weather proof my kids. I don’t want to have “those kids” who can’t play in the rain, who won’t wear a dirty shirt, who can’t handle a little heat or a little cold. I don’t judge the parents who do have those kids, I feel bad for them. That must be a pain to deal with everyday; however the kid came by it. I would like to avoid it if at all possible.
So, as the rain got us all wet, I sang the “Mr. Sun” song. (Oh Mr. Sun, sun, Mr. Golden sun. Please shine down on me…) Check out a Raffi CD if you want the tune, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. It will be stuck in your head for days. It’s one of THOSE tunes.) The kids sang in the words they know and basically acted unphased by the sudden dumping of water from the sky. Once I had them inside, I moved the bags and got into the car. I was pretty darn wet. It felt great.
All morning the air had been very heavy and humid, on the brink of uncomfortable. The rain was gorgeously cold and it felt great on my skin. I laughed out loud about how funny rainstorms are and my kids kept repeating “funny rainstorms” with big dimple grins. YES!!!! My plan to create the weatherproof kids seems to be working.
I was reminded of May 2008. No, I don’t have a good memory. There’s a reason I remember the month and year. My husband and I were in the waiting time when you don’t know if you are pregnant or not and it was not the most relaxing time, to put it mildly. We were cautiously optimistic but a noticeable tension existed in day to day life. A friend invited me to go strawberry picking, and we agreed to meet at the farm as it was located between our two houses. On the way there, it started to rain. By the time I got to the farm’s parking lot, it was a downpour, so we agreed to hit a Dunkin’ Donuts and wait out the weather, hope for the best. Approximately 30 minutes later, the rain had stopped so we returned to the farm. The weather had chased away any possible crowds so there was a ton of room to move. The earth smelled great, freshly washed soil. What a wonderful aroma. We chatted while we picked strawberries, relaxing and enjoying the moment. Then it started to rain again and suddenly it hit me, this feeling of peace. It’s hard to explain, sort of like a calm rush (can a rush really be calm?) traveled from my head to my toes and my head got a little dizzy. I looked up at the sky, allowed the rain to pour down my face. For the first time in ages, I felt really and truly at peace. If you could bottle that feeling, you would be a billionaire or have the Nobel Prize, no doubt.
A few weeks later, we got the good news. Maybe I knew?
In honor of that memorable day, I took the kids out for a short walk when we got home from the grocery store. My husband teased us that it might rain, but I didn’t care. We focused primarily on finding any and every mud puddle and we jumped in them all. Both kids stomped their little sandaled feet in total and utter glee, splashing muddy water everywhere. My son even sat in one and had to be stripped at the front door when we got home. Fantastic!! I couldn’t have planned it better if I tried.
I think that I need to get caught in the rain more often, remind myself to chill out and enjoy the moment.
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