They see it lingering between the cracks. Drop by drop. It accumulates and waits. It calls to every Nickelodeon, Sprout Channel, and Cartoon Network watcher. It calls to everyone under four-feet tall and some of us over four-feet.
Rain puddles.
Kids see them and their eyes widen. They smile as they walk toward it. The excitement builds.
It sits still and waits for the Stride Rites, the Saucony, the Pumas, the Dora the Explorer boots, or the Spiderman shoes with flashing lights. It waits patiently, not knowing the outcome, but knowing that something big is about to happen.
As they get closer to examine it and think of the best way to get the maximum benefit from its existence, they hear it …
“Noooooooooooo!”
It happens. It always happens.
But not today. Not on Sandbox Adventure List Day.
I’m always in rush to get somewhere. I’m always on a schedule. Everything has its moment and it’s timed so that nap time happens when it has to and lunch takes place when it needs to. Everything affects the outcome of bed time and it’s usually in everyone’s best interest if things go accordingly. But today it was raining. So there was no rush to go anywhere. No rush to make it on time to any outdoor activities. There was no outdoors. So it had become errand day and upon our return, I saw the puddles scattered throughout the parking lot. Small, medium, and large. I smiled.
As we got out of the car, I noticed the familiar gleam in the eyes. The sneaky smiles. And then the hesitation as they waited to hear my voice, hear the dreaded, “Nooooooooooooo!” and see the stern look on my face. But what they heard instead was, “All right. Let’s see it. Let’s see the big splash.” And what they saw instead was my smile and my New Balance jumping in the puddles to join them too. For the next fifteen-to-twenty minutes, we splashed our way to six soaked shoes, six drenched socks, and three wet pants. It was a sweet Sandbox Adventure for everyone.
Looking and thinking … thinking what to do.
Getting ready for an Olympic-sized long jump attempt.
A game of splash tag.
The Big Stomp.
Planning for the Big Splash.
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The Wish Factor 
What really enchanted me: your way of writing
what you wrote
the second photo
the whole idea
Thank you,so much!
Thanks so much! I was hoping to catching the excitement of it all, seeing how they don’t get a chance to do that. I was hoping to catch his big splash, but just ended up shooting the take-off, which was pretty cool too. Glad you enjoyed it.
Yes,fantastic!
This is …..AWESOME. You are always the right place to find at the end of a day, tell ya what. I love reading you up for the pictures that tell the words, and the words that paint pictures. Do you know how they used to pronounce ‘New Balance’ in my old neighborhood? (Howard Beach, New York)…..Newbounce. Yeah,. it was like this. “:Yo, I got my Newbounce, sweet huh?” What a bunch of putzes we were.
Newbounce? You’re killing me over here Howard Beach. HA! I can never look at my shoes the same way again. You crack me up. Yeah my Newbounce and the kids had a great time splashing around.
A fun day full of exciting adventures. Splashing and playing on water never fails to create the most magical moments for our children. Thanks for sharing this wonderful time with your family.
It was so good. I had forgotten how fun that was, but of course my son loved it. I need to remember to do that more often and not worry so much about wet clothes. I’ve got dryer 🙂
Gotta give in sometimes – so worth it! Thanks for visiting.
Definitely worth it. This one sure was as it doesn’t rain too often over here 🙂