Rainy Day Pleasures

by Laurie Wells — April 30, 2007

Just as I'm starting to get in the rhythm of hiking and running and playing out in the sunshine, inevitably, the spring rainy season starts. The weather turns chilly again and sucks all motivation for doing anything but sitting on the couch, wrapped up in a warm blanket, enjoying a good book and a package of freshly-bought chocolate-chip cookies. Sometimes even that's too much, and daydreaming and movie-watching are all I can muster.

Thankfully, for the sake of both my health and my ability to fit into anything other than sweatpants, there is a person in my life who doesn't slow down when the weather turns gray. Wet overcast days present a rare and wonderful opportunity to puddle splash, do the wet-grass slide, and get good and soaked--activities cherished by my toddler.

On mornings when he wakes up to the sound of cars slushing through water on the street below his window, he starts the day by pointing at the rushing vehicles and giving a good wide-eyed and enthusiastic "Whoa!" He's ready to get outside even before breakfast, and patters back and forth in his footy pajamas in front of the glass patio door, repeating "Out! Out!"

The first time this happened, I tried to explain that it was raining and cold. The blank stare he returned made it clear that the best way to prove my point was by showing him. All bundled in rain jackets and boots, we made our way out the front door. Sure that he would be miserable in no time, I figured we would spend the day lounging around inside and thought maybe I'd call a friend for a playdate later. How wrong I was. A couple of hours later, completely soaked and with sore cheeks from laughing so hard, I collapsed just inside the front door, dragging my little wet ragamuffin who was still raring to play.

It's clichéd and cheesy and way too "sappy Mom" for my comfort level, but the truth is, he reminded me how fun it is to play outside in the rain. Once I let myself ignore all those nagging grown-up thoughts about chills and mud, I had a blast. We stared at worms that had been washed out of the grass onto the pavement, went out of our way to find the biggest puddles, and got completely muddy poking the wet ground with sticks. Mud is so much fun!

Sure, there is a part of me that misses having the justification of rainy weather as a reason to sit on my tookus all day doing nothing, but there is no way that bag of cookies can compete with the chance to introduce Gene Kelly Singin' in the Rain dance moves to my little man. And the soaked clothes and muddy face are a great excuse to enjoy a splash-fest bubble bath in the middle of the day.