mommy and katelyn's rainy day adventure

This afternoon Katelyn and I decided to go for a walk to the grocery store.  I needed some supplies for dinner and Kate desperately needed to get out of the house.  We loaded up the stroller and somehow made it down the stairs and went on our way.

Katelyn loves walks.  She has loved being in the stroller ever since she was a newborn.  Dave and I could always count on the soothing roll of the stroller's wheels to calm her down on the fussiest of days.  During those first few weeks we went on so many long walks around the neighborhood.

We had to run in to our apartment office for a few minutes and when we came back outside it was raining.  How dare it rain on our parade to the store?  I could see blue sky in the horizon so we decided to wait it out at the apartment clubhouse.  We sat out on the porch watching people walk by.  A school bus drove up to drop off a herd of students and Katelyn thought it was very entertaining.  Eventually, the rain slowed to a drizzle and I figured if we were already sweaty, why not cool off in the rain?

As soon as I stepped out from under the patio covering and into the sprinkling rain, Katelyn clapped for joy.  She spent the entire trip alternately watching the cars drive by and applauding the rain.  By the time we were halfway to the store, the rain picked up and we were getting soaked.

Katelyn didn't seem to mind but it was raining really hard and I wondered about all the people driving past a mother and baby walking through the mud in the pouring rain.  It's not that I expected someone to pick us up or anything.  I would never have gotten into the car anyway.  It just made me want to be more aware of people I pass by that could use some help.  As I was pondering on that thought, I passed a construction site where the workers were packing up to get out of the rain.  I noticed one of the workers approaching us with a rain coat.  He offered it for Katelyn and then started to turn back to get one for me and just like that, my faith in humanity was restored.

We made it to the gas station on the way to the store to wait out the storm.  I bought Katelyn a cookie for being such a good sport about our adventure.  The gas station has a little row of seats at a table by the window so we had a seat to watch the rain.  Several birds had the same idea and they were all walking the sidewalk trying to stay dry.  Kate loves birds and she laughed and laughed and laughed out loud.

Finally, we got to the store and picked up some groceries.  I was careful to buy just enough to fit in our bag for the way home.  We walked out the door, loaded up the stroller, and just as I was walking away, the bag broke and spilled our groceries everywhere.  I was so done with the adventure.

Luckily, grandma was just a few miles away.  I called in the cavalry and my mom was outside the store within five minutes to take us home.  So much for a rainy day adventure!