West Coast baby

Despite my prior predictions of a rainy and cool summer, July was a lovely month -- it may not have been hot, per se, but it certainly was warm and sunny.

However, on Saturday the weather changed, and it was cool and rainy all weekend. This morning it was cloudy and the forecast suggested it would warm up and clear up, so we went off to daycare (mostly) appropriately dressed for sunny weather later on.

I came home at 10am and decided I needed the exercise so hopped out of the car and did my errands on foot. I loaded The Girl into the sling, pulled on a hoodie, gave her a hat and off we went.

I walked four blocks, went into a store for a while.

And when I came out, it was pouring.

I pondered, for a moment. It was four blocks home, and I wanted to go into a store that was just over two blocks between where I was and home. I am someone who cannot really justify taking a bus two blocks, even if it's raining. But I did have the baby to consider ...

But I then figured -- this child is growing up in Vancouver. If she can't cope with a little rain, she's completely doomed.

So we hoofed it. There were lots of awnings, she had a hat on (a wool one, so the rain didn't penetrate), and if all else failed I pulled up the sling tail to cover her (thanks again SH, for that multi-purpose item ... favourite. Baby. Item. EVER.)

And she made it just fine. She started to fuss just as we got to our home block, and I suspect that might have been just as much from the length of time being carried as anything else.

Me, on the other hand -- well, turns out that hoodie can't really cope with being zipped up over the baby AND covering my head ... too small. So I got wet. But after a month of hot, sweaty weather, walking a short distance in the rain -- even if my feet got wet in sandals -- was strangely refreshing. Like being wiped clean. It's going to get hot again this weekend, and there will be more bbq's and days we need a/c (but we don't have it). Nights of no covers and sweaty-headed children. So the rain today was a welcome and refreshing break.

Although I'm willing to bet that everyone who's working thought that this weekend's rain SUCKED.