And the rain came down...

There is nothing like a warm, late summer/early fall downpour to help you to remember what childhood is all about.  Yesterday brought gloomy clouds and lots of wet stuff to test out our newly applied roof.  The boys and I hunkered down indoors and spent a lot of time playing in the unfinished basement, where they can run around like madmen and scatter toys without a scolding...instead they hear, "be careful with your little brother...Dead crickets DO NOT belong in your mouth...please don't drive your car into the one finished wall in this basement!"

On a normal day we will head out into the front yard to wait for Daddy to pull up into the driveway and then the boys "help" him drive the truck into the garage.  On this day, however, unless a drenching was warranted, we wouldn't have that opportunity.  I decided, however, that we could wait in the garage and that the boys would probably enjoy watching the rain come down.  So, that is where we headed about 5 minutes before J was due home.  I sometimes wonder if my think-ahead-and-ponder-the-consequences mechanism in my brain is broken.  We had been out there for no more than 3 seconds when Ethan spotted the water pouring out of one of the downspouts into the driveway...it had carried stray nails from the previous days roof replacement down with it and scattered them about.  Both boys rushed to gather these "treasures".  I hurriedly grabbed a bucket that they could collect the sharp objects instead of hauling them in their delicate hands.  Crisis averted...all nails were harvested and no skin broken.  That was about the time that daddy pulled in and both boys bolted for the car at the end of the driveway.  He gave me a glare as we both realized he was going to have to pull two slurpy boys into the car onto his lap to journey up the driveway.  As soon as they completed their mission and crawled out of the now-wet car, back out into the rain they dashed!  And straight down the sidewalk and away...initially I winced as I charged after them into the pounding rain, but as I reached the sidewalk, well behind them, I realized I was smiling!  There I stood as two giggling boys bounded, stumbled and skipped back and forth down the sidewalk, stomping in every puddle along the way...and I enjoyed it!

It was just a moment in our dreary day, but for once I forgot about wet clothes and soggy shoes and just went with it.  I have spent the past 20ish years avoiding the rain...darting from vehicle to indoor refuge, using an umbrella as a barricade to the pouring water and leaping over puddles to keep my shoes from getting wet.  I think the boys are doing it the right way...you learn something new every day! :)