I woke up yesterday morning to a wonderful sound... pounding rain and lots of thunder. Add in dozens of lightning flashes, and that's what I call a good time. I LOVE thunderstorms. Growing up in the Midwest, a good part of my year was spent in storm season. the bulk of those storms happened in spring and summer, but you haven't lived until you've experienced thunder-snow!!!
When I was little, storms used to scare me. I would crawl under the dining room table (which is now my dining room table) with my brother and sister and our dog to hide. It was extra nerve wracking when the power went off... that meant mom digging for candles or flashlights and lighting these crazy oil lamps filled with brightly colored oil. If nature decided to up the ante with tornado conditions, we headed for our musty, creepy, unfinished basement until the all clear was given.
Then as I got older I came to love storms. In high school, I would drive outside of town with a friend of mine looking for a good place to watch a storm. We would find a country road, scout out a safe place to park, and just watch the lightining dance across the sky. A lot of people rip on Illinois for being flat, but those sprawling farm fields make for some great storm watching!
In college I would watch storms from my 8th floor dorm room. I had a single room, since I was an RA. I converted the ledge of my window into a makeshift window seat and just watch the rain fall. A few times, we would sneak up to the top floor of the building (which used to be the hall director apartment, but was closed off because it didn't have enough fire exits) and we'd just sit there and watch a storm. They look pretty amazing from 13 stories up.
So yesterday morning when I awoke to those familiar rumbles and shakes, I have to admit I got a little excited. I tried to share that excitement with Alex, who declared "I don't like that thunder." With every crash and flash, I exclaimed, "Isn't that awesome, buddy?" And finally he started to warm up to the storm. I'll make a thunderstorm lover out of him yet!
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