First Rainy Morning

I’ve got the rainy day blahs. It all started when I was trying to juggle a backpack, a lunch bag, an umbrella and an insulated coffee cup on my way out the door this morning. I made it to the car without having to open my umbrella. But getting into the car I spilled most of my coffee all the way down my left sleeve. It was a drenching. I had no choice but to proceed on to school because I was already running late.

The coffee was just for sipping on the short ride to school. My crucial first cup had been safely consumed at the kitchen counter 45 minutes prior, along with a peanut butter banana. 

At school, in the rec center parking lot, I joined the crawling student drop-off line that snaked alongside an idling school bus before I could worm my way into a parking spot, gather everything except the offending coffee cup, and make a dash for Door #8. Halfway up the long sidewalk I realized I’d worn the wrong shoes, but at least I didn’t soak them in the huge puddle that consumed the entire twenty foot width of cement. 

Inside the building on this muggy day, my sweating face drenched my first mask, so I had to switch to a second one before hurrying to the other end of the building in time for the Pledge. As I sat still, catching my breath during the Moment of Silence, I reminisced fondly about rolling out of bed twenty minutes before going online, then looked around eagerly to see which students had survived the harrowing trek into school along with their teachers on this dark, wet morning.