Out of the mouth of babes

Out of the mouth of babes come the darndest things! Also usually known as the truth...

So last night we had a severe thunderstorm. Actually, I don't even know if it qualifies as that, since it was maybe 5 minutes long. But it was the most severe rain I've been in for decades. Rain coming down so hard you can't see. Wind whipping the rain, and dirt, and whatever else it can fling into the air, sideways. Cranes, signs, lampposts and trees creaking in the wind and whipping back and forth. Simultaneous thunder and lightening. And then, after 5 minutes, it was gone. Poof.

Well, during those choice 5 minutes to be outside, I was walking Monkey back to the apartment in her stroller. In a white linen suit. Nice.

We were walking on the west and north side of the Columbia University campus, which meant that there were no stores to duck into, no doors to take refuge behind - it was mostly walls and locked doors. So when the rain struck, we ran. Or rather, I ran while Monkey cried in her stoller and yelped with fear when the lightening struck.

We took some refuge in Teacher's College, but honestly by that point I was so soaked that it was better to just keep going.

So we got to our building, and the rain magically stopped. Our neighbors came out and kind of giggled at the sight of me. I let Monkey out of her stroller, and she took one look at me and said "uh oh" with a frown.

Sure enough, not only had my mascara run all down my face, it had dripped onto my white linen suit. I was a wreck! Monkey kept saying "uh oh" until we got upstairs and I washed off my melted face.