Somewhere over the rainbow

We have enjoyed some really neat (and big, and sometimes scary!) summer rain storms this year. After every rain storm, my kids always look for the rainbow. They still remember the time 2 years ago after a summer afternoon rain storm, we saw a rainbow, and I had packed them into the car and took them for a drive around the nearby neighborhood streets, following the direction that the rainbow was in the sky, looking for the end of the rainbow.

Little do they know that I put them in the car mostly to have them take a nap! But I love making little moments like that fun, inspiring magic and imagination, and giving them the excitement of life to make big wishes.

So after the rainstorm today, we were sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner. The sun finally broke through the clouds a little, and with the sunset, it made a rainbow which went through our backyard basically. The end of the rainbow seemed to disappear somewhere in the woods behind the house. So of course that was a perfect opportunity to build excitement about the end of the rainbow right on our own back yard! We went out looking for it too, but it faded and disappeared as soon as we got outside :(

Maren asked me if that would happen next time that it rained. I told her that a lot of people look their entire life for the end of the rainbow, and never find it. And we were so lucky enough to have it right in our own yard, that it was a super special once in a lifetime experience. Someday I hope my children know that the real magic is knowing that the once in a lifetime experience is happening every day, right here being a part of a loving family. And just like Glinda the good witch told Dorothy at the end of the Wizard of Oz when she asked for help to find her way home...

Glinda: Well Dorothy, you were wise and good enough to help your friends to come here and find what was inside them all the time. That is true for you, also.

Dorothy: Home? Inside of me? I don't understand.

Glinda: Home is a place we all must find, child. It's not just a place where you eat or sleep. Home is knowing. Knowing your mind, knowing your heart, knowing your courage. If we know ourselves, we're always home, anywhere."