It's raining, it's pouring . . .

It's raining today in Kansas. At least in this part of Kansas. Nothing unusual about that, though. It is springtime and all. But did I leave my house prepared with an umbrella? No, no I did not. I can't even find my umbrella. I think it's hiding in the back of my car somewhere. If you've seen the back of my car lately, you'll know why I can't find it. It might actually be lost, but I'm not sure at this point. Yeah, I need to clean out my car. Anyway, back to my story. . .

So, I arrive on campus, it's raining, I don't have an umbrella, and I have a 15 minute outdoor walk to get to my building from the parking lot. Lucky for me, the student union was nearby and selling umbrellas in the bookstore, so I got a bright red one. Aha! I outwitted nature! Or so I thought.

I started walking outside with my new umbrella, untouched by the pouring rain and feeling somewhat sympathetic toward non-umbrellaed people I saw walking by. I was almost to my building when a car whizzed by (driving much faster than necessary, I might add) and created a huge splash from a puddle in the road. And, of course, I was right there on the sidewalk, next to the big puddle in the road. I *almost* got soaked. It was really, really close, but somehow my timing was just enough that it missed me and only a few drops made it to my jeans. A couple of women walking past saw what happened and we all started laughing.

After the nearly-soaked experience, I continued on to my building and started thinking about how funny it is that I thought my new umbrella could completely protect me from getting wet today, and then I almost got soaked, anyway. So, being the nerdy writer that I am, I realized how this was a good metaphor (stop groaning, I can't help it). With some situations in my life, I think I've taken all the precautions and have myself covered from getting into an unwanted situation. And then - BAM! I get soaked, anyway. Totally beyond my control. Funny how that happens.

posted by elizabeth @ 1:29 PM