Thunderstorm

Many evenings, I don’t stay up and watch the television weather forecast. Sometimes, I don’t see any of the late news at all. I actually still read a newspaper most every day, and get my information that way. (We do still get a paper each day. And I scan it, reading the headlines and the first paragraphs at least, of most stories. David on the other hand, reads every single word! He’s paying for all those words, and, oh, yes, he’s going to read each and every one of them! But!! I’m not really talking about newspapers. I’m talking about the weather! ref: the title of this piece)

Anyway, Sunday night, I hadn’t watched the weather report. So, I don’t know what the forecast was. But, whatever it was, I was unprepared for what happened.

afghan at the end of the bed, ready at a moment’s notice to pull up, if we get too chilly

I’ve opened the window above our bed, a little. The nights are still cool-to-chilly, and I sleep better under covers. So I like that bit of a lower-temperature waft of air, or even a little bit of a breeze, as I snuggle under the bedcovers. I even pulled up the afghan a couple of nights ago and felt oh-so-cozy.

Re-enactment, as I cannot really get an accurate photo of the remote actually on my face

Sunday night wasn’t that chilly, but I tucked the sheet and bedspread around my chin and drifted off. Not too many minutes later-KA-BAAAM! A gust of wind came plowing through the window so forcefully that it pushed the blinds straight out, which made a racket, and also caused the television remote, which had been on the sill, to tumble down on my head. Startling, to say the least. I lay there for a few minutes, figuring out if I needed to actually get up.

Just open a little. Just on my side. Just to stave off the heat of summer for a little longer (and not have to run the air conditioner quite so much/often)

If I get up and close the window, I’ll be too warm, and really, what are the chances that that will happen again. On the other hand, if I stay lying down and don’t do anything, the chances are about one hundred percent that the wind will gust again, just as I’m drifting back to sleep, and I’ll be waked up, again. Yes, that is what will happen. I made the pro-active choice, got up, and raised the blinds to just above the open window pane’s lower edge, so any gust of wind would blow on through and not disturb the sleeping us with lots of noise.

Of course, there was some noise, but it was that interesting, distant thunder noise, that really does help folks sleep…and be cozy…and think happy thoughts and dream happy springtime dreams and…hey! wait a minute! I’M GETTING WET!!

A GIANT storm plowed through and, apparently, drove the rain sideways for a while, because it came right in my open window and sprinkled all over me (but not really on David, whose window was not open). So, I had to get up again, and lower my window, but not all the way, just open a little bit, so the nice rain-soaked smell could make its way in and help me get back to sleep.

We’re ahead of normal rainfall for the month as well as the year. We have a big ol’ lake here, so we never have water restrictions, but it’s nice to know that the lake is all full up. August’s a-coming. (when it will be hot, hot, hot, and most likely dry, dry, dry–just an FYI for you folks who live somewhere where it rains in the summer)

The voice of the Lord echoes from the clouds. The God of glory thunders through the skies. So powerful is his voice; so full of majesty. It breaks down the cedars. It splits the giant trees of Lebanon. It shakes Mount Lebanon and Mount Sirion. They leap and skip before him like young calves! The voice of the Lord thunders through the lightning. It resounds through the deserts and shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord spins and topples the mighty oaks. It strips the forests bare. They whirl and sway beneath the blast. But in his Temple all are praising, “Glory, glory to the Lord.”

Psalm 29:3-9 (The Living Bible)

Mother with my oldest cousin, Richard (who most likely knows, at this point, about lightning and thunder)

After my mother graduated from high school, she moved from Hillsboro to Waco. She lived with her sister, Olive, and nephews, Rich and Bud. She told us that, when there was a thunderstorm, she would sit and watch and listen with the boys. They were amazed at her ability to anticipate when there would be a clap of thunder. She was right, every, single time!

My mother and my cousins, Rich and Bud, are gone, now. But a few weeks ago, I was in Fort Worth, with Peter, when a big storm blew through. When we heard the thunder, I opened the shutters on his window so we could watch the rain pour down on his yard and sidewalk. “Look,” I said, as we sat on the bench by the window. “I saw some lightning. Listen, because next, there will be thunder. First, there’s lightning. Then, there’s thunder. Listen.” And there was.