Dancing in the Rain

A spider web clutches onto my hair as I pick up another piece of trash. My legs are sore from crouching, my knees are sore from kneeling, and my back is sore from bending, but I push all of the aches aside and keep working. I peer out from under the stage and see the trees rattling from the huge gusts of wind. The sky is getting darker and layers of clouds are starting to build up. Bye hot weather hello rain, we welcome you with open arms. I resume my work to find picking up one piece of trash reveals 10 others that I hadn’t seen before. I sigh, but work as efficiently as possible so I can get the job done. I move to the next section under the stage just as I hear a loud crackling from above. I look out and quickly realize that it’s only the rain. I see everyone rushing under the shelter to be protected from the mighty downpour. I glance over at Zoe and we both rush outside. We lift up our arms to embrace the rain. I notice that the other student volunteers have come out on the rain as well, however I don’t see many children. I beckon for Sarat, one of the boys at the orphanage, to join me. After a few moments he hesitantly walks out with a volleyball. Sarat tosses it in the air and slaps his hand against the ball, it comes hurtling at me at an impressive speed. The two of us hit it back and forth a few times before we start playing soccer, or how Sarat likes to play, kick the ball at me as hard as you can. Other children and student volunteers join us and we switch from soccer to monkey in the middle to volleyball again. I had the most incredible time playing in the rain with all of the children and, most of all, I loved seeing the smiles on their faces and the sparkle in their eyes. While I was playing in the rain I realized that life will never go as planned, unexpected things will always show up and be present, but its important to cope with what is thrown at you and make the most out of every situation. Sometimes the most amazing times are from going out into the unknown and traveling beyond the fence that blocks you from experiencing new things. Life isn’t about shutting down whenever unexpected, new or things you don’t like come along, its about learning how to dance in the rain.