When You Need an Umbrella

On Phillip’s military chaplain shadowing day, we woke up in the sunniest city in America under a brilliant sky with a few pink clouds.

Sometime between then and leaving to meet the Marine who would escort Phillip onto the MCAS Yuma base, it must’ve clouded over, and we stepped out of the lobby into an unexpected downpour.

For a second, I thought of getting the umbrella from our room, but I was worried about being late (and didn’t want to keep the U.S. Marines waiting) – plus, I figured I’d just be dropping Phillip off anyway.

But I actually could’ve, because, not only did we arrive early, our point person didn’t leave to meet us until Phillip finally called him.

And I actually should’ve, because I found out I’d need to pick up a visitor pass for later, which meant this whole registration process and paperwork and a background check and traversing a muddy gravel parking lot in the rain several times to retrieve things from the car (license, insurance, tire pressure gauge, flag pin, library card…okay, some of those I made up…)

By the time I was all official and could go back to the hotel, I was thoroughly drenched and glad for the hairdryer I wouldn’t normally have a use for.

I made sure to carry the umbrella with me the rest of the trip.

Of course, the sun came out that afternoon, and I didn’t need it again.