Yesterday I watched the sky turn several shades of gray while I worked. The windows in my workspace are on two walls, so I can't help but see the sad skies and total lack of sunshine. I knew it was going to be cooler than it had been recently, and that it was going to rain, so I didn't really mind being shut in and working on my "to do" list.

As the day wore on, the sky would get lighter, then darker, then rain, then it would get lighter again. All day I heard the tapping of the rain on the roof and on the windows. I also heard the wind outside. It didn't seem like a stubborn wind, though. It was all actually kind of soothing. The rain stopped at some point, but started up again as the time neared for me to go home. Thankfully, I keep an umbrella here.

The overhang in front of our building didn't provide any shelter at all, and I popped my umbrella open quickly and dashed out to the car. I was lucky enough to get a parking spot in front of the building, so it was a short dash, but a wet one. I landed in the driver's seat with a damp thud, and tossed my purse and bag on the passenger seat, while holding tightly to the umbrella which was still trying to escape with the wind. Once the umbrella was inside, I was ready for the 30-second drive to pick up The Little Clown.

She didn't see me enter her classroom right away, but when she did, she literally dropped the bundle of toys she was carrying and made a beeline to me. She came running with her arms outstretched and nearly toppled me over with a big hug. She excitedly told me it was raining outside, and couldn't wait to get her jacket on with the hood. (It's a white jacket and it makes her look a little like an Oompa Loompa, but she loves wearing it.) We actually got out of school in record time.

Voluptuous raindrops were still falling from the sky, landing on the pavement and people with a slap. I told The Little Clown I would carry her to the car because it was faster. I picked her and her backpack up and thought for a minute before asking her to hang on to the open umbrella. She did a good job, although I was afraid the wind would take the umbrella from her little hands and I didn't feel like running after it. The Little Clown may be properly attired, but good ol'Mom didn't wear her jacket. (Smart thinkin', no?)

I'm not sure how I opened the car door with a 35-pound toddler, a full kid-sized backpack and an open umbrella in my arms, but I managed. I tossed the backpack in the car, and somehow lowered The Little Clown into her car seat without knocking her noggin on the car door frame or getting an umbrella spoke in my eye. I put the umbrella on the floor of the car and began to buckle her into her car seat. It's a new car seat (for bigger kids) and I'm not yet adept at getting her buckled in quickly. I'm sure it was quite a sight. I was bent over The Little Clown in her seat and struggling with the buckle as my backside poked out of the car and got pelted with the insistent rain. The Little Clown laughed when I finally had her properly secured and I closed her door, opened the driver's door, hopped in and closed the driver's door as quickly as I could.

The car doors were very wet inside the car, and I grabbed a spare blanket to dry them off. I did the best I could, and settled in for the drive home. It wasn't until we were pulling away that I realized my backside was soaked through to the skin. Sitting was not the way to get dry, but since I had no choice I just turned on the radio, a little bit of the heat, and smiled to myself.

It brought me back to moment in time when Dit and I were down at G.G.'s in Florida. We used to visit G.G. at her house on the canal in the Summer for a couple of weeks every year. On this particular occasion, Dit and I were in our middle teens (or almost middle teens) and it was raining outside. It didn't seem like it would let up, either. I asked G.G. if we could go out on the dock. She shrugged and said she didn't mind, so off we went. We were fully clothed, dancing, bouncing around on the deck in the pouring rain, and singing our hearts out. We were totally free at that moment and just enjoying ourselves immensely. I wonder what G.G. and her neighbors thought about us.

I laughed out loud at the memory as I listened to the rain pelt the top of the car and the windows. The Little Clown was intrigued with the rain being on the outside of the car. I felt warm, happy, and a bit damp. I really enjoyed the rain for the first time in a long time.

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