Sun Showers

Photo of a double rainbow in a gray sky over green grassy fields.

The other afternoon I was on my way home from the county library when the sky grew dark and it began to pour. The storm was intense, but brief. A few minutes later the sun was shining once again. Then a few minutes after that it was back to pouring, only this time the sun was shining. It reminded me of one of my earliest memories.

It was a summer day, and I must have been about three and a half because my sister Emily was still a baby. Dad drove me to the movies where we saw Lady and the Tramp. Back in those days Disney didn’t generally release new movies, they would just re-release one of their old favorites. Anyway, it was a sunny summer afternoon as Dad and I rode home from the movies. In my memory, it was a convertible, but I was three and a half so I could have this wrong, but perhaps his Triumph TR-6.

By the way, my dad has a history of owning wildly impractical cars. The story he tells over and over again, is that he had to get rid of his Corvette when I was born because there was no place to put a baby car seat in it. Obviously he sells this as a great parental sacrifice on his part. So, that’s the only thing that makes me question my memory of riding home from the movies with Dad in a Triumph TR-6 at a time when he had not one, but two small children, but like I said Dad is not an especially practical person when it comes to vehicles so this is entirely possible. Once we went on a family road trip to North Carolina in a Porsche 944 because at the time it was the car we owned with the most trunk space.

What I am sure about is that it was a sunny day, and it started raining. This weird weather combination made quite the impact on my young mind because though I wasn’t an expert in all things meteorological I knew that rain was something that usually went hand in hand with gray, cloudy skies. I was so confused about the rain pouring down on us while the sun was shining. Dad did his best to explain the concept of sun showers to me.

When I was a bit older than this, maybe aged 9 or 10 or so, and I would think back on this memory. I would think about how my dad likely took me to the movies that afternoon so that I could have a little break from being in the house with a crying baby. (Not long after she was born, I apparently asked my parents if we could send her back. Sorry, Em!) I also remember another Dad-and-me excursion that must have been around this same time, where we went to a circus. Looking back on this as an adult, I wonder if these little excursions were not just a break from the baby for me, but also for my dad. As for when my poor mom got a break, well that’s anyone’s guess.

Wishing my dad and all the dads out there a very happy Father’s Day! Sure, you might not have ever changed a single diaper, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t make sacrifices for your kids.

— Alissa

P.S. If anyone feels bad for my dad who had to sell his Corvette to prepare for my arrival in the world, you should know that he’s had three more ‘Vettes since then along with a slew of other not especially practically rides.