Running in the Rain

This is the second day in a row I’ve come home breathless and drenched. Allow me to recap my tale.
Yesterday I betook myself, along with the girls, to the town centre. I had a rather large handful of errands to run: a water filter jug to acquire, snacks to get, batteries to return, and charity shops to pop into to watch for spring/summer clothes for Aria. The breeze was a bit chilly, but when I left our flat, the sun was shining, and I was thinking how pleasantly spring-like the weather was. The daffodils in the park had promising buds on them and the grassy yard of the Paisley Art Centre had a liberal dose of deep purple and snowy white crocuses. I hurried about my business, pleased at how well Aria was behaving, and as I went into the grocery store on my last errand, I cast a glance at the clock tower: almost four-thirty. I was making good time and thought that perhaps we’d stop in the park on the way home so that Aria could play on the swings. I returned the ridiculously expensive batteries that I’d bought, then didn’t need, and within five minutes, we were back outside. “How did it suddenly become so dark?” I wondered. I knew that the days were becoming lighter later and because I’d looked at the clock before I’d gone in the shop, I knew it wasn’t that late. Alas, the sky was filled with ominous looking clouds and just as we began to walk home, I felt the rain begin to sprinkle. It often doesn’t do more than that here anyway. However, today was not going to be “like usual”. The heavens soon burst open and large, heavy drops were splashing off me, off the stroller, off Aria. And we had a fifteen minute walk ahead of us. Once we reached the park I began to run—well, run as fast as I could while wearing a baby and pushing a stroller loaded with a toddler and groceries. I was definitely getting more exercise than a three weeks post-partum (sp?) mother would look for. The rain felt refreshing rather than chilly as it ran down my face. We got to the front door and rang for John, but he wasn’t there so I dug out my keys to let us in. I carried the girls up the three flights of stairs first and then went back for the strollers and groceries. Aria and I had got quite wet. Kiera was thankfully snug as a bug in the sling and stayed completely dry. I was so exhausted and parched that I downed a huge glass of water without stopping for breath. You would think that I’d have learned my lesson. But, nay.
When Aria got up this morning, she was determined to go on a walk. I didn’t want to deny her the pleasure, so decided I’d take her to the park. John asked me as we headed for the door, “Don’t you think you should take the umbrella?” “It’s sunny outside!” I said, snickering at him. “I am NOT taking the umbrella.” He looked at me with a glance that said, “Suit yourself.”
Aria and I had fun together, her splashing her way through puddles in her rubber boots, trying to chase after elusive dogs, and swinging on the park’s swing set. After she’d swung a while, I thought we’d go sit on a bench and watch the dogs play. However, as we came back to the main pathway, I looked up and dismay flooded me. The sky had the same dark, ominous look that had covered it the day before. I hastened to pick Aria up and start for home, but it was simply too late. Before we even could leave the park, the same large, heavy drops of rain began to pelt us. Soon the rain turned to little globes of icy hail. Aahh! Once again I was running through the rain, weighted down by carrying Aria. I laughed incredulously at the situation I found myself in. That is why, for the second day in a row, I arrived home wet and breathless.
John had the last laugh.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 9th, 2007 at 6:46 am and is filed under Rachel's Musings, Reflections & Musings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.