That mom had many reasons playing in the rain would not work for her- her son would be wet in the car on the way home, if they were at home playing in the rain, she would have to be outside getting wet too, etc.
I'm looking at the bright side of all this rain: we are saving money on watering our new lawn! It's rained on and off for over a week and I've been able to leave our sprinkler system off. So awesome.
These two things got me wondering if I really like being out in the rain or not. First instinct says, "no way, Jose!" Then I think about our jungle bridges walk in the pouring rain in Costa Rica. It was pretty cool. The rain added another sense of being connected to the earth.
When we were kids and the thunderstorms would roll through, we were so excited when the power went out. We would run through the house, putting candles in each room, then head outside to chat with the neighbors about it. Then run back inside and call our friends on the phone with the extremely long tangled cord in the kitchen.
"Do you guys have power? Neither do we!" (Duh, we all live in the same neighborhood and/or on the same street!)
Sometimes we would put on our bathing suits and ride bikes in the rain. That was a blast, and with the humidity, I don't even think it was cold. We got the idea from our neighbors who just showed up at our back door, on their bikes and in their suits, while we were begging our dad to let us go play outside. He finally relented.
One time, the water got so high it went over the curb and into the yard in the front, and the family of 5 brothers from up the street brought out their huge inner tubes and tried to ride the water down the middle of the street. It didn't work so well once you actually sat in it but it was fun to try!
My dad was always worried about us stepping on some dangerous metal in the high water and needing a tetanus shot.
And then there was that time in college.
I was walking to my second class of he day and it was raining steadily, I even had my umbrella out. I was wearing my first pair of real cowboy boots (they were black because I wanted them to match everything), dressy khaki pants and some equally 'stylish' top, and I was crossing a parking lot when I slipped and fell directly on one butt cheek, soaking my thin pants all the way through. I hoped nobody saw- how embarassing!
I quickly jumped up, thought about it for a minute, and decided I didn't want to sit in a cold classroom with one leg up to my butt freezing cold and wet for an hour and a half, and decided to skip class and walk home.
And for some reason I decided to put away the umbrella.
I was already wet, and I knew I was going home anyway, so what was the big deal? Might as well remember the olden days and get completely soaked!
I slowly walked. I stomped in puddles.
I was laughing at how ridiculous it was.
I ardently wanted a car to drive by and splash me with the water on the side of the road because that would have been the most epic story. I had two chances but both drivers were polite and moved away so they would not splash me. I never wanted anything to happen to me so much as I wanted a car to splash me that day.
When I made it back to my apartment I was laughing so hysterically my roommate wondered what in the world was going on. I told her the story and she looked at me like I was crazy and went back to studying.
I took a nice hot shower and put on some dry clothes, and it was all worth it.
Walking in the rain is way more fun than dealing with sad or depressing situations in life, but eventually it ends up the same way- you have gone through the storm and you are warm and dry and thankful for the experience in the end. The past couple of years have been a very long and difficult walk in the rain, but I feel like I am finally dry and warm again. Secure.
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