Day 140 -- Unlikely Umbrella
This morning, I was awed and amazed at the power of a thunderstorm on the drive to school. I got goosebumps as the van shuddered in the wind and was pelted with frozen chunks of hail, which Breslin described as "popcorn".
I didn't dawn on me until I pulled into the parking lot of the daycare that I would have to actually get out of the relative calm and dry environment of my van and face the fury of this storm, with children in tow. With a sinking realization, I remembered that as an irresponsible adult I don't do things like carry an umbrella with me when it looks like rain.
I glanced around the van quickly, hoping that maybe there was one just stashed in between a seat and a door or maybe that one had rolled underneath a seat, hanging out with petrified french fries and goldfish crackers. No luck. Then, on a whim, I leaned down and pulled out on the drawer underneath my seat. A black umbrella sat neatly in the drawer, a leftover from the van's previous owner.
It struck me as so funny that this day of all days I would find an umbrella in the most unlikely of places. I had to make four separate trips from the parking lot into the daycare -- one per child and then one solo trip with lunch bags, etc. --and was fantastically soaked even with having the umbrella.
As I tried to dry my hair, sweater, and leggings under one of the air dryers in the bathroom at school, I was so thankful that I had found the umbrella. Not only would I have been even more soaked than I was, but my kids would have been sopping wet as well. This would have been a complete disaster, as Breslin tends to melt down when he spills even the most minute amount of liquid on himself. There have been several occasions where we have found him stripped down to his undies, his only explanation being that his seemingly dry clothes "got wet". It would sure have been difficult to avoid this trauma with the eaves troughs outside of the day care building cascading water Niagara-style directly onto the spot where I needed to stand to enter the code into the electronic lock -- all while holding a kid in one arm and an umbrella with the other. But, thanks to my umbrella, my kids stayed relatively dry and happy. This left me more time to take care of things before school started and get the day off to a much smoother start.
By the time I got to school, the storm had subsided and I had no more need for the umbrella, but the rest of the day, I was thankful for the blessing of finding it when I did.
Thank God for my unlikely umbrella!
Lord, thank you for always providing for my family. Thank you for the power and beauty demonstrated in your storm today and for keeping us safe throughout its duration. Thank you for teaching me to find your blessings in the most unlikely places. In your name I pray, Amen.
I didn't dawn on me until I pulled into the parking lot of the daycare that I would have to actually get out of the relative calm and dry environment of my van and face the fury of this storm, with children in tow. With a sinking realization, I remembered that as an irresponsible adult I don't do things like carry an umbrella with me when it looks like rain.
I glanced around the van quickly, hoping that maybe there was one just stashed in between a seat and a door or maybe that one had rolled underneath a seat, hanging out with petrified french fries and goldfish crackers. No luck. Then, on a whim, I leaned down and pulled out on the drawer underneath my seat. A black umbrella sat neatly in the drawer, a leftover from the van's previous owner.
It struck me as so funny that this day of all days I would find an umbrella in the most unlikely of places. I had to make four separate trips from the parking lot into the daycare -- one per child and then one solo trip with lunch bags, etc. --and was fantastically soaked even with having the umbrella.
As I tried to dry my hair, sweater, and leggings under one of the air dryers in the bathroom at school, I was so thankful that I had found the umbrella. Not only would I have been even more soaked than I was, but my kids would have been sopping wet as well. This would have been a complete disaster, as Breslin tends to melt down when he spills even the most minute amount of liquid on himself. There have been several occasions where we have found him stripped down to his undies, his only explanation being that his seemingly dry clothes "got wet". It would sure have been difficult to avoid this trauma with the eaves troughs outside of the day care building cascading water Niagara-style directly onto the spot where I needed to stand to enter the code into the electronic lock -- all while holding a kid in one arm and an umbrella with the other. But, thanks to my umbrella, my kids stayed relatively dry and happy. This left me more time to take care of things before school started and get the day off to a much smoother start.
By the time I got to school, the storm had subsided and I had no more need for the umbrella, but the rest of the day, I was thankful for the blessing of finding it when I did.
Thank God for my unlikely umbrella!
Lord, thank you for always providing for my family. Thank you for the power and beauty demonstrated in your storm today and for keeping us safe throughout its duration. Thank you for teaching me to find your blessings in the most unlikely places. In your name I pray, Amen.
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