Dancing In The Rain In A Wet Shirt – Will I Ever Grow Up?

When I went for a run last Monday, I picked the worst time of the day. The clouds were grey and it was pretty obvious that it would start raining soon. But I just wanted to go. I thought that the temperature would still be okay. But then… the weather down here does not always do what you expect it to do…

I am only just starting a program which eventually will lead me to a 10km run. I am only at the beginning so there is some walking involved as well. When I arrived at the park where I usually go running with my dogs, the weather had gone from bad to worse.

The wind had picked up and as soon as I had finished my 5min warm up it started to rain. The temperature was still okay but it dropped after only a few minutes from 27C to 16C… And with the wind it was honestly not very pleasant anymore.

I did my rounds and I actually enjoyed it.

See, there is something weird with me. I actually like rain. I like to get soaked in rain, either sitting there or walking or running, I prefer warm rain though… One day a few years back I was actually sitting in the rain, waiting for my husband (who was not even my boyfriend yet then). I was just sitting there and looking up into the sky, letting the raindrops fall on my face. He was jogging past me on his way to his office and then stopped and looked at me puzzled, asking if everything was okay. I just smiled at him and said yes. He smiled back, shook his head and left. So I went back to work to…

Back to my run: On my last round I suddenly found myself singing out loud, singing the song I was just listening over my headset. I felt like dancing but was still running. My legs, which felt a tiny little bit heavy suddenly got a burst of energy. My hair and my shirt and everything was soaked already. Still, I felt light and happy and good.

When my last run was done and the cool down started I suddenly found myself dancing, dancing along to the music I was listening to. In the middle of the park, in the middle of the rain. Looking up into the sky, feeling the raindrops on my face.

And I kind of felt like a child again. A child playing in the park, dancing in the rain, trying to find puddles to jump or step in, twisting and twirling and just being silly.

Source: http://www.lovethispic.com

I suddenly thought about the fact that people might watch me. Watch me dance in the middle of the park in a wet shirt with wet hair, totally sweaty, shorts soaked, shoes soaked and probably wondering what I was thinking. And then in that split of a second I thought “What the hell”. I just didn’t care. First of all probably because there was nobody crazy enough to be out in that wind and rain. But second of all because I had fun. I was giggling and dancing and enjoying myself after 30min of running. It… not I just felt good.

When I saw this Daily Prompt, I immediately thought of my run.

Do we ever grow up? Did I grow up?

I don’t think of me being a grown up. Although in theory I am. But there is still this lightness, this “silliness” inside of me. There is still a little girl who just wants to have fun.

But compared to when I was a child, I think about what others might think if I do silly things. There are things adults just don’t do… Is it a rule? Not really and still it is.

The moment you are not a child anymore you just have to act different. And in a way it is a shame.

How much fun is it to do silly things, to play, to run around and laugh, dance, twist and twirl, role around in the grass, make snow angels, build snowman, have a snowball fight. Or build a sand castle.

Why do we need kids around us to act like a child again?

Probably because nobody else does. We would stand out. People might watch and might judge (here it is again, my favorite word…). Maybe we would even be considered crazy…

Shame… as being a child is so much fun. And as for me, the dancing in the rain after my run was just amazing. And it gave me a ton of energy. And you know what: Just because I am growing older I don’t really need to grow up. And therefor I will definitely dance in the park again soon 🙂

In response to the Daily Prompt – All Grown Up: When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?