Thoughts on Thunder Storms

Last night we had a pretty good thunder storm going.  There were even a couple of claps that shook our windows pretty good.  I love a good thunderstorm - especially since the kids sleep right through them!  My favorite part is falling asleep to the sound of the rain falling on the roof.  Ahhh...how peaceful and relaxing!  I started thinking (dangerous, I know), and realized that, although Dave has deepened my love for a good storm with his enthusiasm, I have always loved them.  

I grew up in Eastern Washington, which is in the rain shadow of the Cascade mountains, meaning that we didn't get a whole lot of precipitation, at all.  See all the brown on the map?  I was down in the southeast corner, next to the Oregon border and Columbia River, if you know the area at all.  I grew up in a hot desert, a lot like here, except without the humidity.  Dry, hot, hot summers, windy, windy spring and fall, and cold, dry winters.  So, whenever we would get a storm in, my brothers and I would kneel up against the back of the sofa, and look out the big, 

picture windows.  We would sit mesmerized by the rain and lightening.  We would count the seconds in between the lightening strikes and the thunder, and try and guess how far away it was.  We would also remember the stories about how my grandma has been struck by lightening (not directly, I think) three times.  She's alive and healthy, but now, whenever a storm rolls in, she turns off all the electricity and stays away from the windows. :)  From what I remember, as a little girl, she was standing under a tree that was struck, then doing dishes when lightening hit a telephone pole or something and arced into the dishwater.  I can't remember the third one at the moment.  Crazy, though, eh?

So, my love for a good spring or summer storm has deep roots in my childhood.  I'm glad that here we get the chance to experience the beautiful sound of rain on the roof at night.  Even if it does mean we have to be prepared for a tornado. :)