#1: Puddle Jumping

I was amazed at how many people submitted suggestions involving rain.  Standing in the rain, lying in the rain, running in the rain, standing barefoot in the grass in the rain, jumping puddles with nieces and nephews in the rain, etc.…rain was by far the most common theme among the submissions.  As such, it was the easiest most logical place to start.  Fortunately, it rained for several days on end the week after my birthday. 

To include my 6-year-old niece and 2-year-old nephew I needed daylight hours.  I work 1.5 hours away from them, which makes predicting the weather in their yard a bit tricky.  Naturally, when I left work in a rainstorm, by the time I reached their house the storm cell had passed.  I entered their house with the thought of waiting it out to rain again or simply re-scheduling, but my 6-year-old niece had other plans.

As soon as I entered the house, she ran up to me “Aunt Katie, are we really going to splash in the puddles?”  Re-scheduling was off the table.  My astute sister suited up her small children with galoshes and rain-appropriate gear. I went barefoot as requested and sans rain gear to feel the full effect. We splashed. We danced. We sang. We took turns kissing in the “rain.” We marveled at worms splayed across the sidewalk. We played follow-the-leader through the yard, which particularly tickled my nephew. 

By the end of our fun, my poor nephew being the closest to the ground was by far the wettest, and thus the coldest…but he was a good sport and didn’t complain.  I had high hopes of washing my niece’s hair in the rain, but the rain didn’t cooperate...so we will rain check that one. 

Again, I am amazed how many people made submissions about rain. It’s something that most of us encounter quite often in our geographic setting, yet we fail to take time to treasure the wonder, power, and majesty of something as simple and essential as rain.  I challenge you to stop and enjoy the rain in all of its glory the next time you find yourself in a downpour!