Yogurt, Rain,and Prairie Dogs

          A couple of Sundays ago we did something that we don’t usually do, we decided to skip dinner and go get frozen yogurt for dinner. We headed off with the stroller and walked up the path and then headed into town. It was a beautiful late summer evening and there were a few clouds in the sky as we left.

          After eating some frozen yogurt and sitting outside and enjoying the evening, we realized that those few clouds had gathered to be quite a few more. We decided to start heading for home. However in his true 2 year old fashion of wanting to be a big boy, Leighton decided that he didn’t want to ride in the stroller but wanted to walk home. And so we started off, Clint with Daisy dog and me pushing the stroller with one hand and holding Leighton’s with my other hand.

          Leighton however didn’t want to walk straight home, the world has far too many interesting things to stop and explore along the ½ mile walk home. And so even before we had gotten out of the parking lot he had jumped off every curve that he could find, and before he had jumped off his 5^th or 6^th one we started to feel some sprinkles from the clouds above. At first I wanted to get home before the clouds really opened up and poured rain down on us, but as I watched him bend over to pick up a rock and put it in his pocket I realized that he could care less about the rain, the weather was warm, and what was a little rain going to hurt?

          And so we continued on home. Along the way we stopped and found all sorts of different rocks to put in pockets and for mommy to hold, we found “big” rocks to climb up on, we found a grass hill to run down. Through it all the rain kept coming. And Leighton was having the time of his life. He chased grasshoppers and would make them jump and then giggle with delight. We got to a big field north of our neighborhood that is covered with prairie dog homes, and Leighton had to look down each hole and say
“prairie dog sleeping” and then run up to the next hole.

          We eventually made it home, soaked to the bone, but happy. As I got him ready for bed that night and he looked out the window in his room and pointed to the field we had walked through and whispered “prairie dogs sleeping” I was reminded that we all need Sunday evening walks where the pace of life slows down, where you get to explore and discover this great big world around us, and you don’t care if you get wet in the process. It won’t be too long before the cares of this world will overtake his innocent joy, and I pray that I will not rush that process with my own agenda or comforts. I pray that along the way I will gain some of that innocent joy back too.