Picnic in the Rain

Today, it rained. Again. As it does most afternoons here in the summertime, much to the chagrin of people like me who want to plan outdoor excursions with some level of certainty of not getting rained out. Mountian weather changes from one minute to the next, natives will tell you to prepare for snow and sunny weather the same day--regardless of weather predictions or appearance. I have indeed learned this the hard way.

So, my kids and I, and their Nana, were planning a picnic this afternoon/evening. As time drew nearer, it became apparent that once again, it would rain. We made an executive decision and decided to go anyway. For all we knew, it would clear up within a few minutes and things would be fine. Or not.

We loaded the car with picnic gear, food, drinks, and four children and off we went--in the pouring rain. Onlookers might have questioned our sanity or at least our judgement. Nonetheless, we WERE going on a picnic, if it killed us, or drowned us--whichever came first. It is not a pretty scene when four children are disappointed AND it is raining outside, therefore making it necessary to wallow around in their disappointment INSIDE among adults. No sir.

We drove to the park and unpacked the car in a drizzle, becoming more and more hopeful by the moment that we had made the right call. We piled into the pavilion and unpacked all the grub. Picnicky things like luncheon meat, veggies, crackers, olives(for the baby, who strangely loves them), cheese cubes, peanut -butter- crispie balls, watermelon, etc.
We ate until we were stuffed--both with food and funny, silly conversation. This is the point where I add another reason to my "why children are different from adults" list. They wanted to go and play on the climber even though it was raining. I said sure, why not.
For the next hour, in the rain, my kids played on the little playground and had such fun. More fun than fifty dollars worth of fun in FunDepot or Chuckie Cheese--to my amazement.
Looking at it from my point of view, I would have been utterly miserable out there in the chilly rain getting wetter by the minute, hair getting frizzier and frizzier (as naturally curly hair tends to do with the slightest bit of moisture), but my children, this was not the case. They couldn't have cared less that their shoes were soggy, their hair was ringing wet, there clothes were dripping, no. What did matter was that the slide was so much faster, the sand made better sculptures, and the swings went higher (I am not sure about this one). Chalk it up to difference between kids and grown ups, I guess.

All in all, picnic a great success and I also added one more reason to my "why I drive an old car that is already paid for" list--wet children sitting on the seats--reason # 562, of course.

Although, as I write this, I know there are a few of you out there who secretly wish to go out and play in the rain with childlike disregard...come on, you know who you are.