Rain. It seems like that is all it ever does anymore, it’s always raining outside. I personally dislike any form of precipitation whether it is rain, hail, snow or anything else you can think of. There are only two instances in which I actually enjoy a little rain. The first being thunderstorms. I can’t count all of the times when the power has gone out while I was sitting at home, utilizing every electronic gadget I own in an attempt to be entertained, to suddenly find myself sitting in a dark, quiet room with zero distractions. It seems like only then that I take the time to curl up in a blanket on the couch of my families living room and get lost in a good book. Looking back, it is those times when I feel most relaxed. When the only technology I am using is the battery-powered book light attached to the spine of my copy of a Harry Potter novel, and the only noise I hear is the rain pouring down outside and the occasional burst of thunder. My cat curls up on my lap in search of protection, because to him storms are scary shit. To me, storms are soothing, and for that reason, I don’t mind them.
The other instance in which I enjoy a little bit of rain is a bit more “Manly” than curling up on a couch with a book about a boy wizard. In this instance, Myself and a number of friends gather in the rain underneath the lights of REC Park at UIS and indulge in a game of football. It had been raining for about a week straight so the ground was nice and wet, there were a number of puddles on the field. The light from the basketball courts stretched just far enough to cover our football field. We split up into even teams and what happened next was amazing. For the next hour and a half or so we were kids again. We didn’t care about a thing. Our minds weren’t focused on GPA’s or homework assignments. We were out there to have fun, and that is what we did. It was so wet, you couldn’t pivot without slipping. If you were to dive for a ball or slide for the first down, you would slide forever. The ball was so slippery, it was almost impossible to catch, let alone throw. Towards the side of one end zone, there was a puddle of water, almost a little stream. There was one play where the ball was thrown deep towards the end zone. I ran as fast as I could down the sideline and just as I had almost caught up with the pass, I hit the giant puddle and slid. It felt like I was on a water slide. The muddy water splashed up into my face and over my head, covering my body. The game was great. There was no kept score because no one cared about winning or losing, it was too much fun. After we ended the game, we decided that the results were to epic not to capture. The field was destroyed. Each of us was covered from head to toe in mud, water, and grass. Since we had done so much damage to the field, we were afraid that if the picture were posted too soon, someone might have an issue with us playing again (cough*KW*cough). That is why this blog is being written nearly a month after the event took place. I think the dust has settled and everyone has moved on. The picture below is of the guys that decided to stick it out until the end.
The best part of the night wasn’t the actual football game. It was afterwards when all of us decided to run the length of the field and dive head first into the giant puddle and close our eyes as we slid towards the back edge of our end zone. We were carefree, and had been provided with a 100% natural slip ‘n’ slide. Who wouldn’t take advantage of that, even though the risk of injury was probably sky-high? The worst part of the night was going back to the dorms, realizing that we had made a huge mess, and having no choice but to clean the entire bathroom at around 11 o’clock at night. None of us cared though. The night that started out as nothing but a boring end to another rainy day on the UIS campus, became a memory that all of us will share for years to come. Definitely worth it.
