Saturday, November 6, 2010

and then...

Having just finished ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ and wanting nothing more than a hug from each of my much-missed friends, I debated what to do next. It was POURING rain outside. For all I knew, the little girls next door were sleeping or still restricted to studying. But feeling emotionally exhausted and wanting human company, I poked my head out my door to see if anyone was around. All that was visible outside the exterior window was the pouring rain.

As I turned to reenter my room, I saw a flash of color outside the window. I thought I heard laughter. Going closer to investigate, I found Nimmy, drenched, jumping in a puddle and with a huge smile on her face. A second later, the rest of the younger girls came careening around the corner of the building, shrieking in delight as they ran through the rain.

Upon seeing me, they immediately beckoned me to come join them. I was momentarily torn. But it only took a half-second of consideration to reject any notions of age-appropriate behavior and dash out into the rain.

There’s something incredibly renewing about playing in the rain. And it was perfect timing, that all the love I had been desperately missing just a few minutes before, I found right outside my front door. Nine pairs of small bare feet, soaked from head to toe.

1 comment: