Morning musings

While I was waiting for my breakfast to cook, I decided to look outside through an open door to check on the weather. The hiss, patter, and splash of heavy rain greeted my ears as the fresh smell of the washed air hit my nose. I had to think back several moves - before Britain, before Michigan, to the last time I lived in Oklahoma - to the time when I lived where I could hear the the drumming of a storm inside my house. It reminded me of the times as a girl when I would sit on the rock porch my mother built, reading a book, listening to the rain hit the roof, and enjoying the smell.

The summer rain is different here in Oklahoma than in Utah, where I grew up. Today’s rain falls in sheets driven by (for us) a small wind of thirty miles an hour or so. We also get hot rain. The temperature seems warmer than the thermometer states, and there’s the feel of stepping into a shower.

In my childhood, the rain cooled the summer’s day, bringing a lovely change. I remember the slate grey of the wet asphalt, the pearl grey of the clouds, separated by the dark pine green of the mountains, punctuated by the colorful houses. I would sit for hours, gathering energy from the weather, reading Where the Red Fern Grows, The Lord of the Rings, Little Women, All Creatures Great and Small, or whatever homework I might have.

A bright flash of light pulled me out of my nostalgia.

One thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three, one thousand four, one thousand five…

The rumble of thunder shook my skin, setting off a nearby car alarm. I smiled. Silly car owner. The lightening was about a mile away.

I watched two cars in the apartment parking lot drive off, the tires creating a wave of water, splashing as it hit the pavement. Leaning against the door frame, I gathered energy from the storm, just watching. Taking a moment to just be.

Then the microwave beeped, the toaster popped, and I considered mutiny for a moment. But I have tasks that demand my attention, so I turned back into the house, let the door shut, and went to gather my breakfast.