My children don't really remember my mother as they were relatively young when my mother died. The last few years of her life, it was necessary to have her live in a rest home. It was a nice place run by an order of nuns. My mother wasn't quite in possession of her mental faculties but she knew she didn't want to be there.
The first week she was in residence, we promised to come down and visit to see that she had settled in and all. We lived over an hour away so it was always an event to pack four children in the small car and get going. The planned day for the visit, it was pouring rain. Visibility on the road was minimal. We passed several accidents on the freeway and considered turning back but realized how disappointed my mother would be if we didn't show up. Naturally, the traffic problems and the rain made us late and we arrived just 15 minutes before lunch time. My mother was in one of her vague moods so seemed to enjoy the brief visit but was just as happy going off for her lunch. We sighed and left the building and headed back to our car for the long ride home.
As is the rule with rainy days, we could only find a parking place two blocks away. As is the rule with parking that far away, the rain waited until we exited the building to come pouring down again. We were plodding along, holding the baby, grabbing toddler hands, and just trying to reach the car. Our mood was anything but cheerful.
Suddenly, our eight and six year old broke into song and started dancing along the flooded sidewalk, kicking up water and singing a la Gene Kelly, "I'm just singing in the rain . . .". It broke our somber mood and we joined in the singing if not the dancing/splashing part.
The rain let up when we arrived home and my husband decided to take advantage of the lull to plant a rose bush we had purchased the day before. He prepared the soil, unwrapped the root base, and then noticed the name of the rose on the tag: Singing in the Rain! We have since considered it our little blessing from God for our efforts that day and the rose bush is still flourishing over 15 years later.
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