U is for Umbrella

I love rainy day weather! I just love curling up by a fire and reading a good book, or popping some popcorn and watching a scary movie with my friends or family! My mom had suggested I do R is for Rain but because I knew U would be a hard letter, I thought I'd save it. This picture of me was taken on a rainy day in Germany...Obviously my Umbrella was NOT up to the challenge.

I've always liked to take walks in the rain. I remember taking one such walk when I was a Senior in High school. I was wearing my BYU-I hoodie and jeans and it had just started to rain. I walked outside and stood their letting the rain wash over me. I brought an umbrella, not because I needed one, I left home with the full intention of getting wet! I just love hearing the pitter patter of rain drops above my head or as it turned out to be, behind me as I rested the umbrella on my sholder and I walked down the muddy streets. Another walk in the rain ended in the BYU-Idaho gardens when my friend Adam asked me if someone asked me out on a date and I accepted, then we started dating and fell in love and they asked me to marry me and I accepted if I'd ever regret that decision and think about the missionary I never waited for. I said no. He took my hand for the first time and we walked back into the rain...

There is a song by Jo Dee Messina called "Bring on the Rain." When I was in High School going through some difficult times, my mom looked at that as if it were my theme song. It goes something like this:

"Another day has almost come and gone
Can’t imagine what else could wrong
Sometimes I’d like to hide away somewhere and lock the door
A single battle lost but not the war (‘cause)

Tomorrow’s another day
And I’m thirsty anyway
So bring on the rain

It’s almost like the hard times circle ‘round
A couple drops and they all start coming down
Yeah, I might feel defeated,
I might hang my head
I might be barely breathing - but I’m not dead

Tomorrow’s another day
And I’m thirsty anyway
So bring on the rain"

When we got married my grandparents gave me the most beautiful picture of the Bountiful temple. It is a picture of a couple walking into the doors with an umbrella overhead and it is titled: Shelter from the Storm. I find the symbolism incredibly beautiful and powerful and thats why it is the first thing you see when you walk into our home.

Another great rain memory that perhaps isn't as meaningful or deep, in fact it is downright shallow. We were driving up to north fork for a Ensign Family reunion. The rain had been coming down all day and it had been thundering quite a bit. When we were almost to our destination we noticed a tree and been struck by lightning and had fallen in the middle of the road. We weren’t exactly sure what we should do when suddenly TWO BUSES CONTAINING THE ENTIRE WEBER STATE FOOTBALL TEAM CAME DRIVING UP. My mom asked them for a little assistance and a bunch of handsome strong football players all came marching out in the rain…of course I got out of the car to see if I could assist any of them by looking at their bodies. They seemed to be fine but I stood by just in case… My mom snapped a picture to make sure it wasn’t just a dream and I lived happily ever after with that wonderful memory. My mom and I were just dying but my mom was the biggest flirt of all.

Umbrellas serve as shelter from the storm, but when we face our storms- may they be as fun as a bus load of college football players rushing to our rescue!