Rain Rain stay today little children love to play

Well the rain can mean different things to all of us. I was sitting in my rocking chair as befits an old gramma on Easter Sunday lamenting about the rain, when I realized number 4 grandchild was quietly putting on her boots ,over her night attire,and taking her new umbrella for a walk. (Apparently the Easter bunny also has a thing for umbrellas.) Now she did not see the same challenges I did. Her challenge was to sneak by the adults and get out the door without being told to get dressed!

And again I marvel at how we put obstacles in our way when none really is there. (I too own boots and an umbrella, but was not prepared to use them on such a cold drizzly day)

And it is amazing how the word spread.

Soon One, Two, and Three were in their boots, slickers and umbrellas and away they went on an adventure. Apparently it is a lot of fun to get really, really wet.

Again I thought of how social walking is, how much fun they were having, and how just one little girl (just 3 years old) could inspire an entire family to get on the move. (If only to run for the camera so we’d have a good shot of the adventure gang!)

So her song is “rain rain don’t go away”.

Wait, Think, Go

Sure we were cold from walking in the rain. But there we were, taking pictures of what we thought was interesting. Or, I should say, my nephew was taking pictures of what he thought was interesting.

For me, holding back as he took pictures, I found it to be an easy way to talk to him for in between me showing him how to change my camera's settings I was able to ask him about what he was doing lately. See, the thing of it all is his girlfriend just broke up with him.

The loss of your first love is always difficult. Surprisingly, my approach worked for he wasn't as guarded as he normally is when I ask him questions.

Who knows, maybe the "so, you want to push that button on the left three times" interspersed with "so, how are you feeling about everything" was an easy - or seamless - enough distraction to him that it didn't seem like his uncle was prying, but rather making sure he was okay.

He took these traffic light pictures, I simply told him where to stand and what to look for when we was ready. I like the photos for two reasons: first, it showed me what he thought was interesting on a windy, rainy, weekend afternoon on our way to get something to eat and second, it captured how we should approach life.

The red light means we should stop to take time out for ourselves and for those important to us in life.

The yellow light means we should proceed with some caution about big decisions in life.


And the green light means that if something or someone is important to us then we should go after them in life.

You never know what you'll find out or what you will see when you start to ask questions or view the world through the eyes of another when you go for a walk.

I found out that he's upset about the break up. He found out that he'll be okay.

He found out that he has an uncle he can talk to. I found out I have a nephew who likes cameras.

By talking and by walking, you'll eventually get to where you're going.

Umbrellas and such

An umbrella or parasol (sometimes colloquially, gamp, brolly, umbrellery, or bumbershoot) is a canopy designed to protect against precipitation or sunlight. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)An umbrella or parasol (sometimes colloquially, gamp, brolly, umbrellery, or bumbershoot) is a canopy designed to protect against precipitation or sunlight. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

I’ve been thinking about umbrellas and how we use them; mostly because I expected sun today but maybe it might shower in a bit. I just came back from a spot where the umbrella is definitely used as sun protection. And as I watched folks using them, I thought there may be a fair amount of wisdom that we could take from these people.
For example: Our bus ride which would have been a quick 2 hour ride here in NS, was almost 4 hours. Why? Not just because the roads were bumpy (they were), but because we were heading through towns at noon, everyone was fetching their kids from school. On foot…with parasols (such a great word) and guess what? Busses yield to pedestrian traffic! And in areas of heavy population, the sidewalks were in better shape than the road. Walking is a way of life. Walking is important transportation for the population, and walking deserves some consideration.
So as I get ready to go to a meeting, I’m tucking my umbrella in my pack and hoping I’ll need it as a parasol not for avoiding the rain!