"Rough" weather...

I have always been surprised by how many people are afraid of thunderstorms. I guess they did not have the benefit of having a mother and daddy like mine.

I remember when we were little as a thunderstorm would pass through, my parents would take us out on the front porch to watch the “show”. The lightening would arc across the sky followed soon thereafter by a loud clap of thunder. We would ooh and ah at the theatrical event presented by nature. Of course, there were times that we would wince. But a quick glance at daddy’s face smiling, eyes bright with awe as he narrated the show would quickly chase any uneasiness away. “The angels are bowling” my parents would say. And although somewhere in my mind I knew that statement to be untrue, it made the experience even more exciting.

One summer, mother put a bed out on the front porch, the reason for which I do not recall. One stormy evening I remember all four of us kids sitting on the bed, side-by-side, propped by pillows, as mother and daddy sat on the porch swing. There could not have been a more comfortable seat in the world to watch the storm. A fine refreshing mist would occasionally blow on our faces, but to my amazement, we never got wet.

As I have grown older, I realize that I have a great respect for “rough” weather, as daddy would say. Although I have experienced it first hand, I have never been afraid. I do however, as news of an impending storm is announced, heed the words of my mother that echo in my mind “Use the head God gave you on your shoulders!” Enough said.