The calls started coming in early. Are we still going downtown? There's a chance of rain? I said we were going and I had a thunderstorms rain plan. What I didn't have was an off-and-on-drizzle-all-day-plan.
We planned our Girl Scout troop tour to coincide with the Chicago Dancing Festival. We would finish two badges with one day exploring Chicago. It wasn't raining when we left our house, but it was drizzling again when we walked out of the parking garage. We started our tour talking about Aqua before heading to the New East Side.
Throughout our adventure it would drizzle, stop, drizzle again and stop again. We managed to seek shelter when needed, but we kept going and going and going.
We toured the New East Side, talked about how Millennium Park was built over a train station and watched people enjoying the Bean. We went to an art exhibit at the Cultural Center, which the girls described as "PG-13 and we're only 11." The exhibit did include some racy images and one painting with the Confederate flag and a KKK hanging. We talked about all of it before heading down to see the Tiffany Dome.
We talked about not staying for the Chicago Dancing Festival, but the mobile device weather apps indicated the rain would pass before the dancing started. We met some friends who came down just for the Chicago Dancing Festival. The adults set-up the area while we sent the kids to play ball on the Great Lawn.
Luckily for us, Christina brought a huge tarp to place on the ground so the kids would stay dry. Of course, it drizzled as we set-up the space, but we were sure it would stop.
We ate our picnic dinner, chatted about the day and opened our umbrellas. The drizzle just didn't seem to want to end. When the show started the announcer said, "Welcome lovers of dancing in the rain." We all laughed. When the drizzle finally stopped, it was a lovely, foggy evening.
Our girls and their Girl Scout troop sat giggling with their friends Anna, Erin and Jahee. They giggled at the male ballet dancers costumes and decided one dance was "PG-13." I don't know how PG-13 became the go-to phrase for them, but they all laughed when they said it.
When the drizzle turned to light rain, the adults decided enough was enough. We were tired of the off and on drizzle. When we realized the Chicago Bears game was going to end about the same time as we'd be leaving the Chicago Dancing Festival, we knew we had to leave soon. No one wanted to sit in traffic after a long, drizzly day. We packed up to go over the girls' objections.
It was their protests when we left that made the day so fun. Their young spirits meant that they didn't care about the drizzle. They were together having fun and that was all that mattered. When they talk about the outing, they will talk about everything except the drizzle. The rain didn't dampen their spirits and it won't dampen their memories.