I've had a busy and stressful few days as I try to do a million things at once, including preparing for exams.
Yesterday, I walked down the street to Shop 16 to print out some notes I had finished typing up. Just as I left the Shop, it began to rain. This added to the frustrated mood that I was in and I walked as quickly as I could (without falling, as I was wearing thongs/flip-flops) in the direction of home. After waiting patiently for the road to clear to cross over Plenty road and then began to head back up the street towards my house (debating whether I should attempt to cover my recently straightened hair in attempts to keep it dry), I realized that I had left my printed notes at the Shop...my whole reason for being there in the first place.
I let out some form of verbal frustration, as I waited to cross the road back towards the Shop. Upon finally getting everything I needed, and heading once again towards the destination of home, the rain picked up and it started to pour.
Some moments after, I'm not sure how it happened, I began having flashbacks. Memories of camp, when we used to long for the days when the sky would open and a down pour would come. Memories of excitement when the wind started to pick up, the sky darkened and thunder could be heard in the distance.
My mind flashed back to all those times that a downpour would start, we'd all race to our cabins, put on a change of clothes, then run into the quad to find the biggest puddles to jump in. Then someone would put on some music, blaring it from their cabin, and we'd just run, jump and dance in the rain.
I can remember the many moments of running out to see Spidey, with a huge grin on his face, who was working up the courage to attempt some mud sliding. Or the time that Daryl and I found a MASSIVE mud puddle outside the nurses station and used it to absolutely cover Bean's bike in dirt...and then covered head to toe in mud had to welcome a bus load of campers who had just arrived. Or when Thumbalina and I started up a mud lovers newsletter to give ample coverage to the wondrous adventures that was puddle jumping.
In reality, these memories aren't from that old...maybe 5-7 years? But in the context of storming up my street in a foul mood because I had to take a 5 minute walk in the rain, those camp memories seem like forever ago.
But as I remembered and laughed about the various ridiculous things we used to do when it would rain, I couldn't help but slow down and make the walk to my house last as long as it possibly could as I attempted to hold on to that feeling of freedom and fun I used to have in moments like those.
I'm not sure that it was any great revelation that struck me...maybe it was just the reminder that nothing is so stressful or worrisome that I can't enjoy taking a leisurely walk in the rain.
