The skies were in a threatening mood. You could feel a front coming, a cooling breeze replacing the hot humidity just moments before. Once glance at the skies reinforced the sense of foreboding, the multiple shades of gray intensity dancing their way across the sky in oddly shaped cloud forms.
I knew my raingear was stashed in the box on the back of the small scooter so I was not particularly concerned. I rode in the simply hope of no sudden rain bursts. As I travelled along Tiong Bahru, it was fun to note individuals that were prepared versus those in denial. There were large umbrellas as well as small one. A few carried or wore protective rain gear. The ones that stood out were the innocents. One could only hope they were not caught far from something that offered shelter.
As I passed a bus stop, I found myself smiling and then laughing. A mother and her two children represented all three responses to the impending rain. She carried an umbrella and a sense of being alert. Her eyes darted between three points. One was looking for the bus that she hoped would soon appear. The other was the immediate scene in front of her, always unsure if she knew where her children were going to be. Third, she kept looking and revaluating the changing weather.
In contrast, her two children had different things on their mind. The older one was resolute, totally lost in thought, ignorant of anything around him. It was as if he was somewhere, anywhere but where he was. Physically he was still, but you knew he was actively engaged in the world of his imagination.
The youngest was wearing a brightly colored raincoat and rubber boots. With no need to be quiet, he sang his own tune and danced around his brother and mother with careless abandoned. Happy is alive and on display! It was as if he were a caricature of David words; “God, mark us with grace and blessing! Smile!” (Psalm 67.1)
It is our time to dance.
