Rainbows

I was driving last week from Idaho (where my parents live) back to Utah. The weather was overcast and off in the distance I could see the clouds looked like they were falling out of the sky, signifying that it was raining. It was slightly windy and occasionally I would feel the wind trying to push my car off the side of the road. After an hour of my 4 hour drive, I noticed that the western sky had cleared up and the sun was radiating down. I looked off to my left toward the falling clouds and saw a magnificent rainbow! I slowed slightly and breathed in the sight. How marvelous, I thought! And that cheered up my day a little. I drove on, turning my head every few seconds until the rainbow disappeared.

Another hour went monotonously by (my radio doesn't work, so I'm either singing or talking to myself on long trips). As I came into Utah and hit the Wasatch Mountain range, I looked over at their majesty. I love these mountains. And at that particular moment, they were made even more beautiful by another rainbow. This one was only a half rainbow, but it was very, very bright. I was so happy to have seen two in the same day. Again, I watched as the rainbow disappeared.

I let my mind ponder on rainbows, and I was struck with the thought that perhaps the rainbows were a sign. I tried to think what the sign might mean. Mulling over possible solutions, the only conclusion was that I should have followed them and see if there were really a pot of gold at the end!

I was amazed that by the end of my journey that day, I had seen a total of 5 rainbows. One was even a vibrant double rainbow, which I wished I had of had my camera with me to take a picture of it. And yet out of all those rainbows, I never left the road I was traveling to go search for what was at it's end.

I wonder if that makes me smart and focused or just a boring and a jaded adult.

I remember seeing a rainbow about a year ago and calling to my girls to come look and see. I pointed up in the sky and said look at that! They were so excited. I told them that they CareBears were here! Then they really got excited! They started jumping up and down and splashing in the puddles! Taking on their enthusiasm, I did the same.

The next time there was a rainbow, my daughter went to the closet, grabbed an umbrella, and stated that she was going to go look for CareBears. I gave her her coat and let her loose. She came back a little disappointed and said she must have missed them.

The last time we saw a rainbow together, we went in search of CareBears together. The minute we saw the rainbow, we ran to the car with umbrellas in hand and races to the edge of the rainbow...which happened to be at the mouth of a canyon. We raced, hand in hand, looking and searching for the elusive CareBears. My daughters were so excited, they couldn't help but laugh, jump, and run in circles. At last, one of them exclaimed, "LOOK! I see one!" She pointed with her little fingers up into the mountains and that last shimmering sparkles of the rainbow. We all crouched down and looked up to where she was pointing. We all imagined that for a brief moment there were CareBears lurking about, playing, laughing, and dancing. We then drove home as happy as anyone could be.

I love seeing the world through the eyes and imaginations of children!