Rag dolls and rain

We had fun this past Saturday swimming at an outdoor pool now that it's finally hot enough and going garage saling. I bought the girls a sweet Cinderella rag doll that's Cinderella before the ball on one side and Cinderella after the ball on the other. As a kid I had one like it that was Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother. The boys got a plastic bowling set which they had great fun with in the basement, messing up Daddy's stacks of freshly painted trim.
Sunday afternoon after church, lunch, and nap (for Lethei at least) we went to a wet picnic. It rained off and on the whole time, but we enjoyed sitting by the fire and listening to a story about fairies and eating all kinds of great nibblers like thick ham and cheese slices and strawberries and watermelon and carrots and cucumbers and fat roasted shrimp.
There's something mysterious and fantastical about the rain. It's all silver and misty, giving everything that Impressionist painting look. It's also romantic, I think, especially just a light rain,giving an excuse, if needed, to cuddle close to someone you love to keep warm and slightly dampening hair and clothes in an attractive, rumpled and more real somehow, way. Rain washes away veneers and dust and gives you a fresh start. It restores and promotes life and growth.
It's sweet to know the real and embrace it and yet to see the beauty of potential and possibility.