"Don't threaten me with love, baby. Let's just go walking in the rain." --Billie Holiday
All I needed to do was look out the window to get my inspiration for today’s post. It’s raining like crazy. Times like these, I enjoy staying home, watching the gray chaos from inside.
Today, however, was a busy day. I visited the salon for a much needed hair upgrade, then zipped over to the ice skating rink for a birthday party. I haven’t skated since I was 19 years old in Hawaii. Yes, Hawaii, and Yes, 19. It was my first and last time trying and I am glad my children had a chance to experience it today—their first and hopefully not their last (thanks to their ice skating experienced father).
But, today sparked memories of rainy days on Guam. One memory from my elementary school days is prominent. A bus would drive us from school the half mile to a mom and pop store, JM Store, in Ordot, (Why did we take a bus? Well, aside from Guam being bula maipe-very hot, as well as humid, we had a thing about stray dogs and lack of proper sidewalks. I could have easily trudged up and down the hill from my school, but for safety, we just didn’t).
On rainy days, my mom was always waiting at the store--raincoats and umbrellas in hand. Guam was so unpredictable weather-wise, that we didn’t typically carry rain gear with us. My mom, smiling, would dress us in our rain coats and we would walk the quarter of a mile home. I enjoyed getting my toes wet (I usually wore those horrendous jelly sandals).
^^^^^^^Yes, those!^^^^^^^^ Also, I loved the feeling of the warm rain in my hair.
Once home, my mom would whip us up a hot meal, usually ramen style noodles and turn on the television to our favorite show at the time, Belle and Sebastian. We would gather around the coffee table, sit on the floor Korean style and slurp our noodles and enjoy the afternoon.
So, tonight, my children will be slurping on yummy, Japanese ramen, hopefully soaking up some rainy day memories of their own.
***My father played Eddie Rabbit in our home often, and I still enjoy it.
ESTA LATER!
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