It can't always rain

Last week gave us a huge amount of rain. It rained and rained and rained. whenever Jennifer complains about the rain, I shrug and tell her, "That's life in the Northwest!" But I was aggravated by the rain, too. It's been 4 years since we have moved to Oregon yet even still I miss enjoying sunny weather and clear, blue skies. I don't like the gray skies that Oregon, and other parts of the Northwest, are known for.

But another thing it's known for are the days when it doesn't rain. There's a sense of wonder and renewed joy as people get back outside to enjoy the sun when it shines again. There's that eagerness to DO things and tackle unfinished projects and neglected gardens.

Those are the days that we have come to look forward to. Despite my telling Jennifer that rain is only water (a fact she has reminded me of on the many occasions she wants to go outside to play when it's raining), we pretty much remain indoors and do indoor stuff during the rainy days.

And when it's not a rainy day, when the sky is blue again and the sun is shining, I'm reminded of the quote from the movie, The Crow: "It can't always rain."

Even when the pouring rain seems endless. Even when the cold, gray weather is going on day after day after day. Even when ALL THERE IS IS RAIN! The sunny days that follow those rainy days always, always come back to us. And those sunny days remind us that it can't always rain. Even when the rain seems to go on and on, it can't go on forever.

I was especially reminded of that quote at the end of the week. When the rains miraculously stopped. The sun came out, the gray clouds disappeared, the weather was right again. No more rain.

To celebrate the great, rain-free weather, I took the kids to the park on Friday. We went to a small park that is near our home. Here they are enjoying the swings:



I was planning to take them both to a bigger park on Saturday, but instead we did a HUGE cleaning job in the house. Got things organized, put away, cleaned up and thrown out. Jennifer got to help her dad with the yardwork, and she was really excited about doing yardwork for the very first time. I wish I had the chance to take a picture of her smiling and holding up the shears, but I was doing double-duty watching the baby while he ate in his highchair and washing dishes in the sink. It was cute to watch her act all excited about doing yardwork. She felt like SUCH a big girl.

So today was the day we went to the big park. Only, we didn't get to bring Jesse along. My husband and I agreed to leave him at home and I had Jennifer grab her stuff and we headed out the door. She had fun playing on the tire swing (it's her favorite kind of swing!) and also playing with other children. I sat on the bench, enjoying the sunny, mid-70's weather. It was REALLY NICE weather!!! Not surprisingly, the park was packed with families and dogs romping about and having picnics.

While at the park, Jennifer and I practiced playing catch with her mitt and ball. She'll be starting softball soon, so she tries to get in some practice on throwing and catching when she can. She got frustrated when she didn't catch the ball that much, so she was real surprised when she finally did catch it:




We also played Frisbee. She kept hiding behind the trees the minute I turned my back to pick up the baseball or the Frisbee, so I had to keep looking for her.

We had some good times enjoying the great weather. We're prepared if there's more endless rain coming next week, because we know that the rain will eventually stop. The sun will shine again and we'll get to go out to play again.

It can't always rain.

So there's no point in being down or frustrated when it does. And the same quote can be applied to motherhood, too. That was something else that I was grateful for. Being reminded of that quote on Mother's Day. There are times when the "rain" of moodiness, negativity, drama and troubles seem to go on and on. But it can't go on forever. It can't always rain. Sooner or later, the rain will stop, the sun will shine again and everybody will be their old selves again.