Reminiscing

Now that summer has come to Alabama , there is only a very fine window of time when it is bearable to be outside. The heat and the humidity are overbearing all day long, and the bugs come out with a vengeance once the sun goes down. These days, I mostly stay inside where the air conditioning makes me want to snuggle up with a blanket.

But I still like to take a daily walk, which means I watch the clock after dinner. The only semi-comfortable time is from 7:30-8:00 at night. It's cooled off enough to be bearable, and it's not quite dark yet, so the bugs are still tolerable.

Tonight I headed out at 7:36. It was muggy, but the wind was blowing and there were clouds headed our way for a rainstorm, which always cools things off AND keeps the bugs away. Bonus!

At 7:41 I felt a small raindrop on my arm. I kept going.

At 7:44 four more raindrops hit me, two on the arm, one on the leg, and one on the face. I thought about turning around, but decided I was close to halfway through the route so I might as well continue on and get a couple hills in.

7:45: The rain started to pour. Pour. And you know what, I smiled. I kept walking, got more and more wet, and got nostalgic. It made me think about how often I went out in rainstorms when I was a teenager. I would dance in the rain, jump in the puddles, walk through the rivers in the gutter. I loved being outside in the rain. I decided to love it today.

Only one problem: going downhill, my feet were sliding out of the front of my flip-flops. I was afraid I would scrape my toes on the road, so ... I just took my shoes off. I walked a little slower after that, but felt it was worth it.

Cars passed, and I waved and smiled. Who knows what they were thinking. It reminded me of a time in junior high that my friend Lacy and I were walking home from school and her mom came to pick us up because it was raining. We declined the car ride, and walked the mile in the rain instead, mostly in the gutter rivers. Just because it was fun.

Why don't I do things like this more often? It felt so good to let go and be young!

8:03: Walked in the house, took my sopping picture and hung my wet clothes on the banister to dry.