June 05th, 2017

Woke today to Big Old Thunder Boomers.  The kind that feel as if it's rattling the furniture. Now if I can hear thunder before I've put my "ears" in, you know it's loud. For one sleepy moment I thought, "Earthquake?"  And then I remembered where I was and knew it was more likely not.   As lightening flashed, illuminating the early morning dimness, I scrambled out of bed to see outside.  Yup, the palm fronds are flying sideways, it's just a good old Florida Thunderstorm.  Suddenly I was completely awake!

I'm always of two completely polar feelings on a day like today.  First, the thunder and lightning and wind  are so exciting!  The lightening charges the air and sparks everything up.  The energy of the wind physically hurling things around. The crashboom of the thunder waking everyone.  The storm is saying, "pay attention, look at me, aren't I magnificent?"

And then on the other hand, the darkness and the sound of the rain make me sleepy.  I want to spend my morning making soup and bread in the cozy quiet of a rainy day kitchen and my afternoon curled up on the sofa all cozy in the family room listening to the rain pattering on the roof and alternately reading and napping.  The storm is also saying, "Sshhhh, it's okay, go back to sleep".

So what did I do?  Well of course, I threw on some clothes and drove to the beach.  It was an interesting drive.  The rain was coming down hard and the wind pushing things into the street, but there were few other cars and nobody foolish enough to be biking or walking and while my AC doesn't work, my wipers still do so it's all good. 

Once I parked the car I realized that I was not going to be able to take a decent photo from inside the car.  The rain was coming down hard enough that if I turnd off the wipers, I couldn't see out the window.  If I left th wipers on, I had to try to time shots between swipes. Ratz. I'm going to have to get wet. Ok.  At least I was smart enough to grab my rain jacket before leaving the house.  And it was a good thing too because the between the rain and the spray from the waves crashing up on the rocks, I was totally soaked the minute I stepped out of the car.

But there it was. The crash of the thunder competing with the crash of the waves, the wind and the sea, the power, the energy, the exhilaration of it all just cannot be denied or ignored.  The storm simply will not allow it.  It demands it of you.  As wet as I was, it was thrilling to be out in it too. 

Finally, logic prevailed, I jumped back into the car and headed home.  Shortly thereafter of course, the brief rain band passed on by and I stepped back outside into the calm.  It was still cloudy and cool and there is yet more rain on it's way, but for the moment it was just quiet.  I could hear bird song again and the steady dripping of rain off the patio umbrella and the eaves.  Everything looked very clean and new and there is a special quality to the light that only happens right after a storm.

So now, regardless of any plans I originally had for the day, it seems that I will be making soup and bread this morning and then alternating reading and napping while listening to the sound of the rain on the roof this afternoon.  It's going to be a good day.  Rainy Days and Mondays, kids.  When a day is also a song, well it just doesn't get much better than that.