Aguacero

Aguacero - a very strong downpour of rain. Brooklyn and I got our chance to enjoy one of these "aguaceros" today. So lucky...

I walked home with Brooklyn by myself today since Sean had to stay at the school for worship practice for tomorrow's chapel. We were about halfway home when, almost without warning, it began to rain...HARD. We were near a pharmacy and so I stopped under the eave to put on a raincoat (a lot of good that did) and to cover Brooklyn up with a plastic poncho. It so happens that Brooklyn hates that plastic poncho so she threw a bit of fit. I finally got her covered up and the wind began to blow the rain into our faces so I opened up our umbrella and we huddled under that for a while. The lady in the pharmacy told me to come in but, dumb Gringa that I am, I said "No, esta bien." "No, it's okay." First dumb move.
It started to lighten up a bit so I figured if we got moving we might make it home okay and so we started out again. Second dumb move. I was drenched by the time I crossed the street to the park that we walk through to get home. Now I'm thinking, "Okay, so now that I'm drenched we might as well keep going." Third dumb move. Brooklyn was still crying and upset because she was getting rain in her face. I tried to arrange the umbrella so that it would block the rain but she hated that too. So I just did my best to hold the umbrella in its position on the stroller at the same time that Brooklyn was doing her best to push the thing away.
Anyway, we were in the middle of the park when, I swear, it started hailing! Okay, maybe it wasn't hail but it hurt like the dickens and the wind wasn't making my umbrella idea work any better. So we found a tree and once again huddled under the umbrella (which by the way is cheap and small...I left the nice big one with my beloved spouse who had no need of it in the nice dry chapel at the school. Maybe that was the first dumb move...)
I was basically crouching in a puddle of water and Brooklyn was getting quite hysterical about the situation and was wailing like mad. I think I might have said something like "Stop it! I'm the one that's really getting wet here! You're sitting in a nice stroller and I'm doing my best to keep you dry...do you not see how wet I am?" Luckily, I think my little tantrum was drowned out by the massive thunder and the rush of more water pouring onto us. Brooklyn was so upset by now that all I could think about was getting us home so I got back up and we kept going. Yet another dumb move. We were doing okay for drowned rats until I came around a corner and the wind nearly knocked me off my feet. Can you see the umbrella whipping in the wind? I had moved Brooklyn's poncho to cover the whole stroller and there was now a nice big hole down the middle so that it was basically useless. Now I'm thinking "this is bad but it's only one block and then we can turn onto our street. I'll just run this block." What is this the fifth or sixth dumb move? So I ran...as well as one can with drenched pants, an out-of-control umbrella, a stroller and water in the eyes. The wind was blowing the rain into my face so hard that I couldn't breathe. I noticed that Brooklyn had stopped crying. My initial thought was that she'd finally resigned herself to the fact that we were getting close to home but then I realized she must be gasping for breath with the wind and rain blowing into her face so strongly. So I turned the stroller around so that her face wasn't in the wind anymore and we huddled - again - under that pathetic umbrella. Brooklyn was screaming and shivering and we were both worried and mad. It was bad. If I were a cussing woman....
We had to get home and we were so close - when it let up a little we kept going, this time I just pulled the stroller behind me so Brooklyn wasn't facing the wind. I turned onto our street... and found a flood! The water was at least two feet deep. Well, what was I going to do? Praise the Lord for Tevas (my "river" sandals) and a "four wheel drive" stroller. We got through the water and it was just a little farther up the street (and up a hill) to the house. I ran the last little bit, we got to the gate and...it stopped raining. It actually stopped raining!
Brooklyn was beyond hysterical and I don't think I would have been wetter if I had gone for a swim in a lake but we made it. It took some time but I got Brooklyn settled down. She ended up falling asleep in my arms while I cuddled her. For the first time since we've been here we used her little red sleeper pajamas with the feet.
You might find this story funny... I think the Costa Ricans that were watching me through their windows thought it was even funnier. I'm sure we were a real picture.