Slice of Life: Here Come the Rains, Again

(This is for the Slice of Life challenge, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. We write on Tuesdays about the small moments in the larger perspective … or is that the larger perspective in the smaller moments? You write, too.)

We looked out the window of the classroom. It was dark and getting darker and it was only just before lunch. The rain was pouring down in sheets, obscuring the world but giving us an interesting soundtrack with our windows slightly ajar.

I looked at my sixth graders. Most shook their heads, no, in frustration of the inclement weather. A few gave me a hopeful look, so I opened the metal green door and invited anyone who wanted, to run outside, gulp some fresh air on a rainy mask break, and come back inside, ready to write.

Perhaps this separated the adventurous among them, I thought, or maybe, the desperate, the ones for whom wearing a mask an entire day (except for snack and lunch) is wearing thin. I stood there, in the middle of the doorway, raindrops rolling down my neck. On a few faces, I saw the childhood joy of just standing in the rain, and then the quick jolt to get back inside the dry classroom.

Later, at home, thinking of this, I had my Trombone Shorty station on Pandora and a cover of the Eurythmics came on and it just seemed like perfect timing. I can’t find that Shorty cover at YouTube but here is an unplugged Eurythmics version.

Peace (raining upon us),
Kevin

4 Comments
  1. Oh, so good! Thanks for sharing. Wonderful for this kid of the seventies and eighties.

  2. I’ve never been a fan of the rain, but if heading out in the raindrops was my only way to get a mask break, I would put up an umbrella and deal with the wetness.

    Alas, it rained here yesterday and the sun is peeking out today. I hope the sun is shining in Western Mass. today for you and your students.

  3. Kevin, it is serendipity. I also sliced about the downpour yesterday. I ran out into the rain to bring in my new poinsettias. The rain was incessantly pouring but I needed a nature break. Maybe some of your students felt that when they went out. The song was beautiful and made me smile. Thanks for the look into 6th grade.

  4. Kevin, what a joyful experience. I would have been one running maskless out in the rain, even at my age. When I taught second grade in Arizona, the hallways were outdoors. On the rare days it rained, water poured off the roof. My mind jumped back to walked down the halls with kids walking in a line, and one or two kids always walked on the edge and let the water drip on their heads. By the time we got to music or art or wherever, they would be soaking wet.

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