Written by I know I was supposed to be preparing supper. Or at least thinking about it. Instead I had to get a moment with my little girl. I took her out on the front porch, for a cuddle kind of a timeout. She had been very upset and I needed to separate her from her twin brother. I am sure that her being upset was not at all connected to her lack of a good nap this afternoon. Anyways, we went to the front porch and we watched the rain fall as I held her. She calmed down, snuggled into me and told me she was cold. After all, it was only 51 degrees and raining. Welcome to June.
As we turned to come back into the house she, quite adamantly, asked or demanded that we get boots on and go outside. I agreed as I figured it would be better than any other battles I chose at that moment. So, with her twin brother happily playing in the other room, with big brother Sebastian, we geared up to go outside.
Once we hit the driveway Jacqueline’s face lit up. Her chatter became less audible, much faster, and she bolted for any puddles she could find. After we had been outside for several minutes I called a timeout to get my camera. I told her we would take some pictures. She agreed. Actually she giggled because she loves to see pictures.
Camera in hand, or around my neck and tucked into my rain jacket, we hit the puddle tour again. I took some pictures of her and she immediately raced over to see them played back on my camera. She giggled some more, but couldn’t stick around as the puddles were calling her name.
Jacqueline struck her familiar pose when she jumps. Feet spread apart for a good sound base, arms out to her sides, and a look in her eye like this is the best moment of all time. She bounced, she splashed, she laughed, she narrated in a dialect I could barely make out, and she enjoyed pure delight. When I made some big splashes with my boots she really laughed hard and then screamed with joy. She then proceeded to turn her splashing up a few notches. It was fun. A lot of fun. We got wet. We shared some laughs. We enjoyed a few moments out in the cool rain.
Dinner didn’t get worked on. Nor was it planned. I know we will eat dinner, we are fortunate and blessed enough to always have something to eat. Some day, sooner than I would ever imagine, she will be grown and these moments won’t happen. I am glad we took some time to get outside and laugh in the rain. Every little girl needs to see her own reflection in a puddle and then enjoy the splash that sends the watery picture to pieces.
