Thunder roars as your shovel hits the ground, echoing your growing frustration. Another chore delayed, your to-do list only getting longer. The smell of the coming deluge floods your senses as another boom bellows across the sky. You throw your tools into your shed not caring as they land haphazardly. That’s a problem for future you. The wind carries your neighbors shouts, calling for their dog Max. Other neighbors hurriedly carry their groceries in from their car. That one jogger who always runs down your street starts to jog faster.

Inside, an overwhelming feeling hits you. That inner voice mocking you laziness at the million and one chores needing to be completed. Your mind races from the overflowing laundry basket to the unfinished construction project you started two months ago. You ran out of screws, so you put them on your shopping list. But in the daze of daily life you either forget to grab them, or it’s a trek to get to the store and you just want to be home. With a heavy sigh, you face the Everest-sized pile of dishes. Standing before the basin washing the cutlery, your mind races from one thought to the next. You run through your mental checklist of everything you have to do in the limited timeframe of a weekend, laundry, cook, clean. Thunder rumbles again.

As Zues’s rage subsides, you hear laughter. Looking out the window, you see children outside playing in the rain. Racing their bikes through the forming puddles, running barefoot, shouting their enjoyment to the sky. You smile, the memory of your own childhood pulls you from your desperation. The joy you felt of the feeling of hot pavement underfoot mixed with the cooling rain on your skin. The brief moment of joy fades, you remember when life started getting in the way. Responsibility pulling you further and further from your youth, school, work, bills. Everyday something new creeping its way into life, stealing your time and attention. As life changes from a dreamlike state of never-ending happiness to fleeting moments, brief flashes revive you back to consciousness. Leaving you gasping for air, as if submerged underwater for years.

Until one day, you decide to stay above the water. Refusing to let the overwhelming desperation drag you back under the surface. The echoing laughter of the children mixing with the patter of rain on the windowpane pulls you up out of the water like a life preserver. Keeping you afloat as you make the choice to swim to shore.

“When was the last time I danced in the rain?” You think, watching the children run back and forth, clothes soaked through, hair matted.

“When was the last time I surfaced?” you ponder on the thought, mulling it over realizing it’s been far too long. In this moment, you know more than anything else what you want to do.

You want to play.

To run in the rain, to be free. Free of judgement, free of pain, free from the false constraints of adulthood. To be free from the shackles holding you submerged under the surface, struggling for air. With a deep breath. You leave the dishes, head out the door, leaving your rain boots, coat, and umbrella behind, running to the street. Splashing your way through puddles as you go and slipping around on the grass. You hear the children call out to each other, “Look! Do you want to play with us?”

“What are you playing?” You ask, as you approach the children.

 “We are playing tag!” One child says. “Your it!” They yell tapping your arm as they take off running, giggling the whole time.

 You can’t help but laugh too as you take off in pursuit. In that moment promising yourself, you will always remember to play.

Copyright 2024 MaRyea Jennings ©