[ IP ] Raining All Day

As I sat there, watching her, I wished I could control the weather. She ’ s so disappointed. She ’ s staring out the window, surely thinking about all the fun we would be having right now. She ’ s tracing the lines of the raindrops on the windows as if she could connect them from the inside of the glass. We ’ ve been planning and looking forward to today for a couple weeks, all to be halted by a rainstorm. Perhaps we should have seen it coming, living in the Northwest, but things were in our favor. We figured the middle of summer and clear forecast were the best conditions possible here. Maybe they are, but they weren ’ t enough. 
 
 Throughout my years, I ’ ve heard many people claim that their spouse is their best friend. I don ’ t say this to accuse them of lying, but I know it wasn ’ t always true for me. When my wife and I were dating, I already had a best friend. I didn ’ t like the idea that because I had a serious, romantic relationship that somehow that automatically de-throned my best friend. Personally, I think it ’ s all too complex to actually figure out and no one ’ s going to be happy at the end. 
 
 But there was a point where she did become more to me than my best friend. This resulted from a combination of things though, rather than some outright decision. 
 
 What ’ s curious to me, in hindsight, is how little time my wife held the title. In less than five years, she and I had met, married, and had our first child. We had a daughter, her name is Kristen. Kristen always got plenty of love and attention, being the only child. I ’ ve given her most of all the time I can spare over the years, which is a lot because I don ’ t have to spend any nights at work. Some of my friends have these kinds of jobs and, though I never tell them, I know what they ’ re missing with their kids. 
 
 Kristen is now a young teenager, which brings some new things into the mix, but one of those is her being more of an adult and I get to share so much more with her now. I realized a few years back that she must be my best friend. Sure, there are things she can ’ t relate to yet, but in the sense of who I ’ m closest with, it ’ s definitely her. I suspicion my wife has known this since before I did, but I can see that it doesn ’ t bother her one bit. 
 
 We sat there quietly for awhile, listening to the rain. I still hadn ’ t figured out how to change the weather. I ’ d also now lost hope that the storm was just passing over. We could count on rain for probably at least the next hour. So, I figured something else fun to distract us from our lost day was in order. I went to the kitchen and made us each a cup of tea. I called Kristen into the dining room and we enjoyed a quiet day inside playing games. Today didn ’ t go as planned, but I knew it would be just as memorable.
