I mentioned in an earlier post that I went to the city at the beginning of the year to volunteer.  As a place for need was evaluated, it was decided that I would oversee the water parade for this years annual parade.  I knew from the onset that this would not be an easy task.  For many years now the water parade has been in the hands of a generous man who gave much time, money, energy and connections to create a larger than life show.  I will not go into the details of why this came to an end because it would serve no purpose.  But, it did leave big expectations in the minds of all who have participated throughout the last few years.

As the weeks and months of planning progressed, I found that I kept hitting dead ends.  I talked to school groups and businesses.  I made Facebook pleas and enlisted the help of city department heads.  I tried tapping into connections that made me uncomfortable.  But at the end of the effort, we were left with an amazing group of student leaders from Davis High leading the charge followed by… nothing.  My anxiety shot through the roof as I got messages and phone calls about how this was something that needed to be big.  And I could not deliver.  In a last minute push we got the city to agree to let us use a brush truck (used for grass fires).  But I knew it was not enough.

We began thinking outside of the box.  My goal in all of this was to create a community water fight feel.  But to do that, I had to put my trust in something that I could not control.  I needed everyone who came for the water parade to come with water and guns and buckets and excitement.  We did what we could to aid the process by putting out barrels of water along the route and me passing out some water shooters.  But at the end of the day, I knew it was going to be less than what people had become accustomed to.  So, I began to pray.  And I began to plead.

And yesterday my miracle came in the form of my community.  I know there were some who were let down by the water parade but from my view point, it was beautiful and magnificent.  As I walked down the route I saw countless numbers of trucks backed up to the curb with beds full of water.  I saw families who lugged gallons and gallons of water to the street to join in.  I saw whole groups with cups filled with water running across the way to battle with another group.  I saw kids smiling and adults laughing.  As the Davis High kids came by, all attention was turned to drenching each other.  I am not generally a water fight participator but as I got soaked, I found myself feeling joyful.  And I was immensely grateful.

I have spent the last day wishing I could stand on the roof tops and say thank you to all who SHOWED UP but since I cannot, I am hoping this little blog post will circulate far enough for people to know how grateful I am for the participation they gave that was an answer to my prayers.  It may seem like a silly thing but to me, it meant the world!