Letting Go

Kellen has been into umbrellas lately in a big way. We recently bought an inexpensive one to keep in the car for those frequent "Seattle Rain Emergencies".
November tends to be our wettest month and this makes my son happy.

Yesterday was Sunday and it was raining sheets. Sunday is our only day that no one has to work or go to school. It's our day to be together. We decided in the midst of the downpour that we really needed to get out of the house. We drove through the torrent, to the mall in Bellevue and found a great parking garage where we could park and walk into the mall without getting wet. We were feeling a little smug about our great fortune.

Kellen remembered the umbrella in the back cargo area and grabbed it to take with us. For a couple of minutes we tried to convince him that he didn't need the umbrella as we were protected in a nice, dry parking garage. We knew we would end up carrying it all over the mall. Of course, there was no changing his mind. He was going to have that umbrella. It was obvious that the more we tried to reason with him, the more he was going to hold on to his position.

Kellen is teaching me to let go. Let go of what is reasonable. Let go of what makes sense to me. Let go of what is practical. Let go of things that don't really matter...

Kellen brought that sunshine yellow umbrella. He found a spot right between where the parking garage ended and the store began. A spot where giant drops were rolling off the upper stories of the parking garage. It took him a little while to get the umbrella open, then he stood in that spot for about ten minutes as shoppers came and went around him. I think he felt triumphant.