Rainy Days

All the rain we've had here this week has reminded me of rainy days in Mendon a long time ago and McKay's little boots that he used to wear every day of his life.  

Holy cow, those boots...  

We seriously had to pry them off of his little feet at night.  He wore them everywhere, everyday.  Except to church.  And when they were just too smelly and gross to keep wearing, I had to find another pair of the EXACT same ones on eBay, order them, receive them, and show them that they were EXACTLY the same before he would let us throw the old ones away.  And even after he had the new ones on his feet it was still mildly traumatic to say goodbye to the old ones. :( 

McKay has always been happier outside than inside.  Always.  And although he was blessed with an outdoor kind of a dad, he was not blessed with an outdoor kind of a mom.  I spent most of his preschool days trying to think up creative ways to keep him inside where I could see him.  After several days of continuous rain in the middle of a particularly rainy fall in 2006, though, he had had it with his indoor captivity, so I finally gave in and set him free to play in the puddles.  

I don't know that there's ever been a more gleeful little boy.  

He just splashed...

 and ran...

...and splashed...

...and ran.

 ...every now and then he would stop moving long enough for me to get a decent picture.  

 ...but then he'd run off again.

Eventually he was just too tired to jump and splash anymore...

 ...so we peeled off all the wet, muddy clothes...

...and left those boots out on the porch to dry...

...and we spent the rest of the day inside snuggled up on the couch reading books and watching Bob the Builder until the girls came home from school.  

Sometimes I miss those Mendon days and that little preschool McKay.