Schools closed due to….. rain!

We certainly know that the UAE doesn't receive a lot of inclement weather so a rainstorm here is a Big Deal.  The kids were thrilled with a proper downfall this morning while we were getting ready for school (torrential rain, thunder, lightening, the works!).  We turned the house upside down looking for the umbrellas that you only need once every two years, but alas I could only find one froggy umbrella.  Luckily our generous nanny loaned us hers!  Due to the running around looking for the umbrellas and wanting to allow extra time for getting to school, unfortunately I didn't get any photos of the girls enjoying the rain.

School was filled with giant smiles, wet kids and soaking feet.  Very few of the kids knew how to hold umbrellas to make sure they didn't blow inside out.  Anna, who has lived here since she was one, was terrified and I had to carry her into school.  Except for Anna's fear of the wetness, it felt like what a snow day feels like in the southern part of the US - unexpected, delightful.  On the way in, a friend mentioned that she thought about letting her kids stay home just so they could enjoy the unusual feeling of splashing in puddles a little bit longer before they dissipated.   Well, she got her wish.  Due to weather forecasts saying that more rain was coming in the afternoon plus cities and streets not designed for deluges of water PLUS drivers who don't know to slow down when driving through partially flooded streets meant that the government made the call to close all the schools in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.  Tricky business, this wet stuff.  I know all the families from the northern parts of the world who live here now are particularly getting a kick out of school called… for rain!

The kids thought this was a grand idea!  You can see how nice the weather was when I picked Regan and Anna up (plus two friends).  I'm typing this two hours after I fetched the kids and it has indeed started raining again but not heavily - I do think they could have left the schools open and we would have all been just fine - a little wet but a-okay.

Yay!  School's out because it might rain more!

*Full disclosure - I didn't take the above photos of the rain as I was too busy trying to get the kids to school!