day 2 ~ the thunder rolls

i blame my obsession with the weather on the fact that i am an okie.  and this is especially true during storm season.  every spring there is an entire week devoted to storm preparedness on the news.  and if that wasn’t enough, when storm season actually does arrive, all the local tv stations are constantly breaking in with updates and warnings.  the meteorologists are showing off all their high-tech weather radars.  and don’t forget all the storm-chasers calling in with reports for the field.  i can practically feel my anxiety level rising just thinking about it.

well so every once in a while, spring storms just pop up out of the blue.  but most of the time, long before the storm system even comes together, we have been hearing about it for days. ‘changes in the upper masses!  dry lines! cold front! gulf moisture!’  the weathermen are all over TV with their maps and hilite areas predicting where they think the biggest impacts of the storm will be.  and now thanks to facebook, all of their warnings and predictions are getting shared over and over again.  and omg don’t even get me started with the weather channel and TORCON index.

it is for this reason, that usually long before the storm even gets here, i’m already dreading it.  i mean don’t get me wrong…i appreciate the fact that meteorologists take their job seriously.  and as anyone who has lived through a tornado will tell you, advance warning is the key to surviving some of the deadly storms that have ripped through our state.  but i have to tell you…sometimes on those days when i know the storm is still looming out in the western part of the state and the air is thick and sticky with humidity, all i can think is ‘God…just let it rain already.  let’s just get it over with.’

and i would tell you that this is exactly how i felt with regards to my empty-nest. knowing that day was looming.  the fear and the anxiety.  the impending doom.

{yes, in case you’re wondering, melodrama becomes me.}

but you know… being an okie…the one thing i’ve learned is that storms always look worse in the distance.  and the same has held true for being an empty-nester.  just as with real storms, there were those ominous, black clouds building in strength and marching their way closer and closer  – “my only child is leaving the nest.”  and then the rumbles off in the distance heralding the imminent thunderstorm. – “what am I going to do when kelsey goes off to college? what’s next for me?”

i’ll  admit it…i was scared.

but like any self-respecting okie, instead of doing the smart thing (going inside and waiting for storms to blow over), i like to stand on the front porch and watch the storms roll in.  i love watching the trees sway in the wind and that first gush of cool air signaling the arrival of the gust front.  and honestly, is there anything better than the smell of rain in the air?

now obviously, in the case of a tornado, i would get my family and run down to the basement for cover.  but most of the time, these storms are just your garden-variety, spring thunderstorms. and so therefore, i know that the winds of change will howl and the thunder and doubt will rattle the windows.  but i also know that once the storm passes, all will be well.  the sun will come out.  the dust will be washed away and the air will be fresh and clean.  everything will be so lush and green.

and then sometimes, if the sunlight hits the rain just right..

…well then it’s downright magical.  and for me, that alone is incentive enough to ride the storm out.

 

 

 

 

 

from the archives~

• the sunday funk
• we are OK