Rainy Day Magic

     So it's raining here in the Pacific Northwest. Again. Now we native Northwesterners can handle lots of rain. Buckets and buckets of rain. Cats and dogs kind of rain.
      But sometimes you've just gotta say "Enough already!"
     After all, We're trying to plan our veggie garden here. I have sweet peas to plant and manure to spread-and I'm not talking about my blog!! I'll leave that interpretation up to you all.
     So I'm standing here on the patio singing, "Rain, rain, go away..." and thinking of a magical rainy day I spent in Gresham, Oregon, some 10 years ago.
     My daughter and her husband had just relocated to Gresham (where his family lives and a good job awaited him)... and they had the audacity to take my grand-daughter with them! The nerve of some folks!      Jordynn was my first grand-child, a little toddler at the time and I was heartbroken at her departure. So Grandma Debbie did what any sensible Grandma would do...packed a few clothes, loaded up the car and headed down I-5...destination: Gresham. (It's about a 6 hour drive; but 5 if you really miss your children.)
     The drive was a rainy one and so was the weekend. But Grandma Debbie was determined to go outdoors with little Jordynn. So we grabbed an umbrella and set out for a walk; toddler style; which means slower than a snail's pace because we had to pick dandelions, scurry away from bumble-bees (while discussing how nice bumble-bees really are), and smell all the sweet apple blossoms  along the way; AND simultaneously avoid stepping on the cracks in the sidewalk. This is all important stuff and that's what grandma's do-that's how we roll. Of course we were only about halfway around the humongous city block when rain started to pour down upon us. Not to worry. We would just sing all of the way home. "Rain, rain, go away...Come again another day...Grandma and Jordynn want to play!"
     Then something magical happened. The sun poked it's head from behind the clouds. A rainbow appeared, and the rain stopped. Little Jordynn squealed with delight, "Grandma, you did it...your song made the rain go away!" So we skipped all the way home, singing our rainy day song.
     After that, until she was old enough to know better, Jordynn would call me her 'fairy grandmother'. She thought I possessed special powers. But of course we know that's not true. No, it isn't me, but Jordynn, and every other sweet grandchild like her... who are magical. Their special charm is to remind us that this world is beautiful and full of lovely things if we can just slow down to really look at them. Their special charm is to take us all the way back to that wonderful land called 'Childhood'.
     Jordynn and Kayla, Ana and Isabella, Dane and Junior, Ethan and Kayden, Abbey Rose and  Sophia, Kyle and Ivan - you are my special magic and my rainy day songs. You are my Fairy Grandchildren!