Swinging in the Rain

This Thursday & Friday, Reeve has not had school due to parent conferences. The parents continue to make their way to work, but it has been nice to let the kids play later, and not worry as much about bed times.


On Wednesday night, there was an extremely light drizzle, and after baths, Reeve & Gabi went outside to play with our wonderful neighbor friend -- and spent a good hour swinging in the rain.

It was neat to see them having such a good time, and getting to spend extra time in the evening leisurely playing after dark -- instead of the rush to the 7:30 bedtime so the entire next day doesn't unravel.

It is interesting how in Malaysia, the evenings get going around 9 pm. Not that we've ever been out that late (okay, maybe once or twice), but according to rumors, it isn't unusual to find little babies and kids accompanying their parents around the malls or to social events as the clock approaches midnight. While we don't do that with our kids, it is somewhat reassuring to see how much kids become part of their families lives, and having kids doesn't completely dictate your social engagements.

Anyway, while we were out the playground, right outside our back door, I also played with the "night scenery" setting on our new camera. You can somewhat see the blur of the kids in the time-lapse photograph of the swingset. It was so nice to sit outside under the palm trees with the colorful sky growing darker and darker and the cool air blowing through. Ah, so refreshing.



Another side benefit of Reeve's conferences is that we haven't had to leave as early in the morning -- the combination of no traffic due to Malaysian school holidays and not worrying about having to catch Reeve's bus make for a more leisurely morning routine and a few more minutes of shut eye.