I like to
encourage my kids to play in a warm summer rain. Even as an adult, playing in the rain without
a care in the world is soul cleansing.
Most times we are running off to an appointment so we cover our hair to
keep it from getting messed up. Or we
quickly run inside trying to limit the amount of rain that might otherwise
saturate our clothes. But on those warm
summer days, I say, go outside and skip in the rain!! I don’t know what it is, but it’s
revitalizing and I swear it takes years of your life. I am
not sure if it is because the water comes from the heavens or if it’s because
in that moment, no matter how old you are, you become a kid. And isn’t life just grand when you are a kid,
when the only stress of your day was deciding which game to play first. As an adult it is easy to just be TOO
responsible. I remember when Josh was a
toddler and at one of our Mcdonald’s trips he began blowing bubbles in his
water. Of course being the responsible
parent I was, my reaction was to tell him, No.
And then I thought to myself, I
remember doing the same thing as a kid. I could almost remember the
feeling of it being fun, so I grabbed my water to see just what I had
forgotten, and guess what?! It is
fun!? For real! It is fun.
And so I figure if it’s just water and there is a lid on the cup, what’s
the harm? I still find myself doing it
here and there these days, and every time I can’t help but laugh.
Another kid experience that I’m
thinking I should revisit is splashing in puddles. When did I start avoiding puddles. Was I 10?
Was I 15? Was it the day I
became a mom? My kids know that as long
as they are in boots or sandals(cause tennis shoes get REALLY stinky), and I am
not standing next to them, they can splash through puddles. However, one day Bo splashed right next to
me, and even though we were in a paved lot, the pavement was practically nonexistent
in some areas, which meant I was then covered in mud and ground up black top. Needless to say I was frustrated, and I began
to ponder why this was so irritating.
And of course it is because of the clean-up process. I
didn’t want to clean up my own pants, and I didn’t want mud in the van, and yet
Bo just had the best moment of his day.
Before I came “raining” down on his parade, he was grinning ear to ear
quite proud of his “so called cannon ball into the crater within the parking
lot. It was in this moment I realized my “Type A
rigid personality really doesn’t like to clean up messes. I am all the time working to “not create a
mess” I cook strategically being sure to
only dirty the necessary amounts of pans. But I am thinking this summer I need to take a
day after the rain and splash in some puddles with the kids. It’s gotta be fun, Bo will walk 20 feet out
of his way just to walk through one.
So this summer I
encourage you to join me in dancing in the rain and finding the biggest puddle
ever, to splash in.
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