Dodging rain drops

In my home, it was my father who played the role of maternal caretaker and my mother who did those things that need to be done for families to carry on, those things that make a parent a little bit more distant.

It's been a rainy weekend here, and I have very fond memories of rain. The one that makes me smile the most, though, is when my dad convinced me that my mother could dodge rain drops.

I can't remember how old I was or where we were, but it was raining and my family was out running errands. The van was parked just out of reach, which meant that, in order to get to the car, we had to walk through the rain. My mother volunteered to pull up the car, and I immediately became concerned that she'd get soaked on her trek through the parking lot.

"Don't worry," my father said in the calmest of voices, "your mom can dodge raindrops." Love and mischief crept across his face as the words slipped out. And that's all it took.

Call me gullible.

So on day's like today, when I feel like a clear head is just out of my reach, I like to stand outside and imagine what it would be like to dodge raindrops. But it's more fun to get a little wet.