I didn't sleep much, but it rained much.
I remember rains as a little girl.
After a rain my mom showed us how we could make all the water running down the driveway join together into one big river by digging canals with a stick. Then we'd float little stick boats down the river. It was hours of fun for four kids with a couple of sticks.
My favorite rain happened when I was probably 10ish. The rain was really coming down. It was boring and dark inside the house. I told my mother that I wished we could go out to play. And then she said the impossible...we could play in the rain. No mom says that! She told us that we could go out and play if we wanted to, she'd be ready with towels.
So we went out! We had a front porch with two pillars at the corners. And at those two corners were downspouts. Not downspouts with pipes...just open downspouts on the porch roof that funneled all the water from the front of our four-square farmhouse to the front yard. The water was just shooting out of them in the downpour. I remember holding on to a pillar, my two arms outstretched, feet on the edge of the porch, leaning back and getting myself right under that downspout, drenching myself, giggling and delighting in the "terrible thing" that my mom said we could do!
I remember that well, and I hope I've passed it on to my kids. I want them pass it on to theirs.
Wow - I loved so many lines in your piece. I think my favorite was "My favorite rain happened when I was probably 10ish." And referring to playing in the rain as the "terrible thing" really stuck with me. I can really hear your voice in your writing. It just flowed too. Enjoyed your slice very much.
ReplyDeleteFun can be so simple, water and a stick. You brought back memories of time in the rain and aftermath for me. Nice post today!
ReplyDeleteSo, why do we need to spend money on toys? You wrote with such enthusiasm & joy. I remember getting on our bathing suits & hopping around in the rain, splashing, sometimes sliding down an embankment made slippery by the wet. I'm glad your kids will experience it, too!
ReplyDelete@teacherdance
ReplyDeleteExactly! My daughter is going to have our first grandchild in August! How old does it have to be before we can have our first rain celebration? I can't wait!
Reading your post brought back memories of playing in the rain for me, thanks for that. It's funny how adults deal with rain where I live: they hunch their shoulders and cover their heads and run to avoid getting wet. I see mothers putting on heavy winter jackets on their children when it rains, to go to school to protect them from...what?
ReplyDeleteI keep thinking of the Wicked Witch of the West who melted when water touched her.
I liked the rhythm of your piece. I often make text to text connections as I read. When you talked about playing in the rain I thought of Addie Boswell's picture book "The Rain Stomper".
ReplyDeleteMy Mom would let us stomp and play in the mud puddles. We had to first put on our "galoshes" before going out to play.