A Splishin and A Splashin

. . . It's raining it's pouring the Old Man is snoring . . . Singing in the rain, just singing in the rain . . . If all the raindrops were lemon-drops and gumdrops
Oh! What a world it would be . . .

It's Friday and today was supposed to be a big exciting fun day for Alex. Today was Park Day!! Basically a bunch of Moms and/or Nannys take their kids to play at the park and Alex was looking forward to it all week long. Ash and I had even arranged for Beth to go to friend's house to play while Alex and I were going to go to the park. But we woke up this morning to find a raining wet world outside. Park Day=Cancelled.

Beth still went to her play date, and Alex and I were left with a couple hours more to ourselves. Alex was crushed that we couldn't go to the park. When Alex asked why we couldn't go, I gave the logical answer of course. "Because it is raining and rain is wet, so the park will be wet, and that means the slides will be wet and we don't want to get wet because then we'll be cold and we'll have to change our clothes. So lets just stay inside and be dry."

I tried to set up a last minute play date for Alex to cheer him up, but none of his friends were available to come over. So...we did some of Alex's favorite things: watched Toy Story 2, ate lunch, and played with blocks. All to no avail. Alex still really wanted to go to the park and it was still raining, so of course we couldn't go to the park. Plus so much of the day had gone by and we needed to get ready to pick up Beth from school. Clearly, we couldn't go to the park. And that's when I thought to myself...how can we make this day fun? Then it hit me: Why can't today be extra special fun? Lets go to the park anyways and do the things the kids really want to do.

As soon as the idea hit me, I said to Alex: "do you want to go to Beth's park?" (its the little playground outside Beth's classroom) and I have never seen Alex so happy. We hurried and put on our rain boots and I put his new yellow rain jacket over his winter coat, grabbed Beth's rain things and ran.
On the way to school, Alex and I sang so loud it echoed in the neighborhood (ok it was more like screaming at the top of our lungs) many different versions of the Raindrops Song. Changing the verse to be all his favorite foods, like If all the raindrops were jellybeans and icecreams Oh! What a world it would be...stanging outside, mouths open wide, singing ah ah a ah ah a ah ah a ah! if all the raindrops were carrots and tomatoes Oh! What a world it would be.

Instead of walking, we hopped across the crosswalk. While we waited for Beth to get out of class we stood under the school's rain-spouts and the moment Beth was let out of school we had her change into her rain boots and we slid down the slides even-though they were soaking wet and even-though it got our clothes wet.The three of us sang some more, and raced to the biggest puddles. We even did the most craziest silliest thing, we walked in flowing water next to the sidewalk instead of on the sidewalk (but we were still safe and jumped up on the sidewalk anytime a car came by) and the most insane part of all...drum roll...we didn't rush home.

We took our time and jumped in one particularly large (as Beth called it the mostest humungoest) puddle for over ten minutes, splishin and splashin so much dirty puddle water splash up into our faces. Just then we started getting a little bit cold and that's when it occurred to me these kids in Texas have never played for a long time in the snow and gotten cold while having fun. And if they have never done that, they have never drank hot chocolate after doing so.  Seeing them giggling while getting wet and dirty, is when I became determined that rainy days will be fun for these kids. I might not be able to control the weather or even let go of schedules and just have fun everyday, but we can have fun in the rain and we will always have hot chocolate on days like today.

Once we got home, I stripped down the chillins and got 'em changed into some dry comfy clothes, then it was time for cocoa!

Normally, the kids only get one packet which means only one flavor. When Beth asked if she could have mint and marshmallow I was about to say no just automatically, but then I guess the rain had changed my thought process and today I figured that if we made the cocoa in a big cup, we could mix the flavors and the pour the yummiest combination into the littler cups. So we had Minty Marshmallowy Milk Chocolaty Hot Cocoa. And usually I sit in my spot across from the children at the table, but they always want me to sit between them...so...today I sat with Alex on my left and Beth on my right as we drank our cocoa.

It was when Alex was licking his chocolate mustache off while saying "this is yummy", and Beth asking if we could always have Hot Chocolate on cold rainy days, and myself answering "sure! it will be our special tradition," that I realized that its good to not always be worried about every little mudane rule or schedule or "normally"...and that to live we should truly seize each day and see it as not...Park Day Cancelled, but rather Puddle Jumping and Hot Cocoa Day!!!

Fun side note: While I was typing this little story up I was also watching The IT Crowd. And there was this awesome quote from Moss: "its the fun-est wet-est most splish splashiest place in the world" and although he was referring to Sea World, I feel like it about sums up just how awesome the mud puddle just down the street is, if you have enough child in you to enjoy it.