About Distracted Daddy
Distracted Daddy is a working father with a two-year-old daughter, a focused wife and a flatulent pug. When he’s not distracted he blogs about poop, parenting and other things at distracteddaddy.com.
Rain Rain Go Away!
distracted daddy: mud-lucious and puddle-wonderful canada
(Oct.13.11)
When water falls from the sky, the familiar refrain of “rain, rain, go away” echoes throughout our house. It’s our toddler’s favourite weather-related song (Phil Collins’ I Wish It Would Rain Down is a close second.) and she sings it often.
During these rainy day ballads, she alternates who “wants to come out and play.” Sometimes she wants to come out and play, or mommy does, or daddy, or the dog, or milk, or even Elmo. The bottom line is that the rain should leave because someone wants to come out and play.
My daughter doesn’t love the rain. She’d rather rain drops didn’t keep falling on her head. She’d rather it be sunny. What she does love is what the rain leaves behind.
Puddles!!
She’s a little puddle-jumper. If water pools on the sidewalk my toddler will jump in it. Again and again. She jumps from puddle to puddle, splashing and giggling with glee.
Walks that occur after rainfall are inevitably twice as long because no puddle is left un-jumped. Her pants get soggy when she finds big puddles and passerby may get splashed. On some jumps she misses the landing and goes diaper first into the puddle. She has tantrums if we limit puddle jumping. She jumps in puddles with or without her stylish rain boots.
And she has a stylish pair of rain boots. She has an entire stylish rain outfit. Rubber boots, brightly coloured raincoat, toddler-sized umbrella. On cloudy rainy days she stands out like a Technicolor beacon.
After puddle-jumping, twirling her fashionable umbrella is her favourite rainy day activity. She’s yet to master the “hold the umbrella over your head” to keep yourself dry technique. She rests her umbrella ella ella oh oh oh on her shoulder like she’s about to reenact Rihanna’s similarly named song. (Or Singing in the Rain if you missed the previous reference.)
The tiny umbrella even makes appearances when there’s nary a cloud in the sky. She tries to open it indoors. We try to convince her not to. Toddlers just don’t get the concept of bad luck. Her rain boots are also worn on sunny days. She wears them in the hope that she may encounter puddles. That or, it’s because with the large handles they’re the only article of clothing she can put on herself.
Either way, if the forecast calls for clear skies and you see a toddler walking around in galoshes and carrying an umbrella, it’s my daughter. She’s looking for puddles on the sidewalk. Unfortunately, on sunny days the only water pooling on the sidewalk isn’t water.
Now if the forecast calls for rain, we’re inside singing for that rain to go away so we can jump in its leftovers.
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