I woke up this morning to the sound of thunder. For me, thunder has to be one of those lifetime events that never goes unnoticed by me. By now I enjoy it more often than not.
As a kid, thunderstorms gave rise to my first concerns that my Mom didn't really care if I lived or died. I remember, as a small child too young to go to school, running to my Mom when we had that rare thunderstorm in Portland, Oregon. I would be in a panic and crying, scared out of my wits. Her response was always to pooh-pooh the thing and tell me how, when she was a little girl in Mankato, Minnesota they had massive thunderstorms-- like that information was a comfort to a 5 year old. So, I'd close my eyes and cover my ears and just hope to hell I didn't get fried. (Turns out that was a harbinger of future coping mechanisms I'd employ.)
After living in Michigan all these years I've grown accustomed to thunderstorms. In fact, I've come to enjoy their awesome power and display. My favorite time and place to enjoy a thunderstorm is at home, in bed, at night, with my wife. Cuddle up! It's storming!! Least favorite place is in the OR where you can neither hear nor see the show.
By and large, I've come to really enjoy a good thunderstorm for what it is, an absolute statement of the power of nature. It's one of those rare events when you simply are forced to realize just how insignificant you are with your own power; just how overwhelming the power of a few electrons can be by comparison.
Sometimes it's good to have that kind of reminder. It's good to have your limited capacity demonstrated for you once in a while-- as well as to have the opportunity to realize just how fortunate once is to enjoy safety and shelter. Kels and Ev don't seem to have any fear of the storms. I guess that comes from growing up in this climate. But, if either of them ever came running to me in a thunderstorm, I'd just hold 'em close.
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