Wednesday, March 20, 2013

A Few Thoughts on Storms

Early in the morning in the middle of the night, it was a dark and stormy morning.  Guess what I'm trying to convey is, dude it stormed big time out here in Rancho de Five.  In fact this is the worst storm we've experienced out here meaning the accumulation of hail, thunder and lightning and the torrent of rain that made everything blur into gray outside.  I should have known something was up because just a few minutes before the storm started moving into our area Buddy woke up and she used me as her springboard and extra leverage to bolt out of our room.  That woke up Roy and he got up to go to the neccitarium.  Then in that few seconds I began to hear thunder off in the distance and a few drops of big raindrops.  I got up and by the time I had walked into our family room it was pouring rain and little chunks of hail were hitting the windows.  Roy came on into the study to look at the radar and we were shocked to see that Rancho de Five on the radar was beyond the color purple of bad weather, the radar showed deep, dark purple or black.  We turned on the porch light and saw a nice accumulation of hail.  Buddy was mournfully crying underneath the bookcases.  For a passing moment I thought we should join her there.  Roy announces he is going back to bed and I decide to stay up and watch the storm move on through.  Because everyone knows if you keep watch in a storm nothing bad will happen verses trying to sleep through a storm.  So Buddy the scardy cat and I sat in the study listening to the howling winds, cringing at the hail pounding the roof, and watching the rain.  It seemed to be as good time as any to look at Facebook and Twitter to see any updates or if any Rancho peeps were up with the storm.  There were several green dots by friend's names and Peggy and I actually made a few comments and while we were up so early wished her youngest daughter Jaime, a Happy Birthday.  Peggy said she was going to check out what was in her frig.  I got a drink of juice and headed back to bed, hoping to be able to fall back asleep.  Wasn't a problem at all.

Yesterday, I started working on a post about storms but not actual weather storms, but the storms we experience in life.  This quote from a FB friend, "Some people create their own storms, then get upset when it rains." grabbed my thoughts because I know so many that are going through the stormy season.  Some but not all find themselves in a storm that they created either through being a storm maker or from lack of action being sucked into the whirlpool of  other people's storms.  Others didn't pay attention to the storm warnings and find themselves stuck in or in the aftermath of devastating life storms.  I am embarrassed to admit that I used to be a devoted storm maker and did so because I was pretty darn good at it and because I erroneously believed it kept my wit and words sharp.  I figured if I had to be experiencing a storm then by golly I was going to bring others in.  Last night huddled against the forces of nature I might have a new perspective or maybe a renewed understanding of surviving, in tact hopefully, from the experience of storms.  Psalms 107 and Acts 27 are two of my favorite chapters in the Bible.  Through these stories we can see the process of, like Barry Manilow has sung so strongly, "We made it through the rain."  Although I love me some Barry, I also love me some Psalm 107.  Yesterday as I re-read it for the millionth time, hmmm maybe a little exaggeration there, but this verse grabbed me.  "He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves.  What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor."  I think of my own made storms the blessing of stillness far outshines the chaos of brewing storms.  I think in storms of my own making, I now choose the storm that is worth stirring and the battle worth fighting for.  Like most people in the background noise of life there are things that upset me.  Things that I find unjust and situations of hurts and misunderstandings but yet in all these things, not all are storm worthy.  I'm glad that at least later on in life I have found the joy in the stillness.  Some people never find it.

I was comforted by the fact that if we had another 2:00 am wake up Monday morning that at least I could watch the Pope be Officially Poped. Buddy gave us a rough start at the beginning of the night but soon fell into deep cat sleep. Our mistake, we let her sleep all evening and when we were ready to turn in she wanted to play. She can make the most mournful cry when looking for a little attention. Right now watching the birds is wearing her out. She can hardly grab a cat nap due to the heavy traffic at the feeder and bath. I find myself sitting with her mesmerized by these birds. Only difference is my desire is not to trap and kill just watch and be amused. This little mockingbird is the bomb! She or he can clear out a feeder like nothing else. I can even see her now chasing birds out on the green space. So I sit here watching the birds just like my mom did and I hate to admit it but I would make fun of her bird watching and the stories she would tell us of the birds and their antics.

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