When I was a kid I read a book, and I don’t remember the title or what it was about, where the protagonist, a kid about my own age at the time, goes to a friend’s house for a sleepover and they get to have chocolate cake for dinner with pizza for dessert. All on paper plates and I think they got to eat with their hands too. I LOVED this.

I also recall that I always wanted to take a shower in the rain, soap and all. I think my mom let me try at least once, but where I grew up it never seemed to rain hard enough to really scrub down.

Here in Nebraska, it pours buckets.

Miles loves the water, and rain is no exception. When the sky opened up this evening just after dinner, I drew his attention to the scene outside our sliding glass doors and his face lit up. He was so delighted by this most gigantic splash park that I just had to let him run outside to play.

He played in the water streaming down over the gutters at first, running back and forth under the eaves to stay mostly dry and splash his hands under the downpour. Squealing and laughing, eventually he grew bold enough to run out across the deck and get well and truly soaked.

I have to confess that I’m not such a fun cool mom that I went out there WITH him… no thanks, I felt like staying warm and dry. One of these days I’ll run out there with him. But I think he had plenty of fun on his own.

Kids need rules and structure, but having a (relatively) orderly life is what makes bending the rules all the more delicious when you do it. Someday Miles is going to take a really cool shower in the pouring rain, with soap. And someday we’re gonna have chocolate cake for dinner with pizza for dessert!