This past Monday we attended a local Memorial Day ceremony and as the ceremony came to an end, the rain clouds relinquished the water that God so graciously held on to until the beautiful outdoor time of remembrance was complete. It was sweet, really – walking around the memorial garden with my family (& my handsome hubby in his dress uniform) looking at the various memorials as the rain sprinkled lightly on us. It actually felt nice after sitting out in the hot sun for a couple hours, so we took our time walking through the garden barely paying attention to the rain that was dampening our hair and clothes, but not our spirits. It was such a blessing to attend a ceremony paying honor to the many men & women who have given their lives for our freedom – including the freedom to congregate in public and thank our Heavenly Father for all he has done and to ask Him to watch over our dear friends who are currently overseas.
Later that afternoon, once we were home and in lounging clothes, the rain came pouring down! I jokingly told Emily she should go out and play in the rain while she had a chance. She’s always wanting to go play in the rain but unfortunately it often happens when we are in good clothes or about to go somewhere. This time, we had all the time in the world and she was already in “get dirty clothes”.
I also joked that she should take Daddy with her. (Rob has a love/dislike relationship with the rain. Loves it to water the yard, but very much dislikes it raining on his ears.)
She responded that she would go out and play in the rain *IF* Mommy AND Daddy came with her.
That was an offer we couldn’t refuse – so off we went into the backyard to run around like silly people! Well, almost. As Emily and I were halfway across the yard we looked back to see Rob watching us through the back door window. Nice try, Daddy! It didn’t work. Soon we were all jumping on the wet trampoline together – singing and laughing while our clothes got absolutely drenched.
I wish I had known where my camera was at the time we came in, but you’ll just have to use your imagination when I say we were soaked from our heads to our toes and back again, but we had huge smiles on our faces!
Sometimes it’s not about what’s comfortable or convenient – it’s just about making your child feel loved and important through good old fashioned playtime.
“Today I shall behave, as if this is the day I will be remembered.” ― Dr. Seuss
“It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between them.” ― Leo F. Buscaglia
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” ― George Bernard Shaw