The Magic of the Rain

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magic-wandThese days, it seems like a lot of motherhood is spent trying to capture magical moments for your child(ren). That might mean doing a little Elf on a Shelf action, going full on sneak attack when the tooth fairy comes to visit with glitter and a little note, or maybe filling their room with balloons on the morning of their birthday. We spend a lot of time and effort to make sure that childhood is full of magic and wonder.

The funny thing is, childhood naturally IS filled with magic and wonder. Sometimes, in our hurry to take our kids to Disneyland complete with a handmaid Disney themed outfit so they can “experience the magic,” we forget about the little things that make our children stop in awe.

pancakesPancakes for breakfast. A trip to the pool. A new box of crayons. New books from the library. Seeing the moon and the sun at the same time. These things are amazing and exciting to kids, even though they may seem mundane to us. When you stop and think about seeing the world through a child’s eyes, you really begin to appreciate the magic in every day life.

My children love to experience rain. The recent bout of rain has this sun worshiper (okay not technically, but I REALLY love sunshine) down in the dumps and missing out on her daily Vitamin D. But, the flip side of that is that my kids are FASCINATED by the rain. Fort Worth isn’t exactly the rainiest place. We have sunshine 232 days out of the year. Alternately, it only rains an average of 81 days annually. That’s less than 25 percent. No wonder my kids are so interested. They don’t see rain all that often!

Since we are so spoiled to have awesome, sunshiney weather, when it rains, we tend to hunker down and stay indoors. We bust out that movie the kids haven’t seen, or maybe do some puzzles. And rainy day activities indoors are really fun. However, consider the alternative: playing outside in the rain.

Drop. Drop. Drop.

I know. I know. Wet kids are almost as bad as wet dogs. Mud and water get everywhere inside the house. Extra laundry needs to be done. Your mother or grandmother (or both if you’re super lucky) may lecture you on how “those children will catch their death in this rain!” All completely valid arguments.

But. Think of the magic.

Rain2Kids in their underwear (or swimsuits, or raincoats) dancing in the rain. Children laughing as they fill up cups with rain drops and splash
each other. The shout of triumph when a toddler splashes in the giant puddle on your driveway. Squeals of excitement as one kid figures out that shaking the tree trunk shakes the water off the leaves. Exploring the bugs and animals that come out in the rain. Discovering how flowers look with drops all over their petals. Sheer delight at how vibrant the chalk colors become when they get wet. The look of shock when you slide down a wet slide into a big puddle.Rain3

I believe that kids should be outside as much as possible. There are so many benefits of being outside, and those don’t stop when the rain rain just won’t go away. They don’t stop when it gets cold or windy and you need to put on extra layers. Nope, outside is always there and always amazing.

So, the next time the forecast is dreary and wet, remember that watching Frozen for the millionth time isn’t the only option. Remember that the outside is waiting to be explored. Remember the possibility for magic.

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Emily H
Although born in Austin, Emily grew up on the Eastside of Fort Worth. After marrying her high school sweetheart, and following the military's whims for a few years, the lovebirds wound up back in the Fort, with their three children in tow. Currently, Emily shares her love of books and writing with both her children and her middle school students. On the weekends, you'll find her outside running local streets and trails, as well as being her kids' biggest fan at whatever sport may be in season.

2 COMMENTS

    • Thanks for reading! We moved here from San Antonio and my littles have never really seen ice or snow or anything. I can’t wait to share that experience with them this year!

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