The Storm
Opening my eyes in the dark made little difference as I slowly became conscious of the hairless dog that was making her way out from underneath my bedcovers. Dalai is usually a sound sleeper and it was curious for her to leave the bed in the middle of the night. The rat-tat-zat of her toenails on the Pergo woke my husband who got out of bed to open the door for her to leave our room. I called out to our bigger dog Taco to go and join Dalai outside – thinking that the two of them together would be safer in the event they met up with a coyote on walk-about in our backyard.
No sooner did we hear the dog door clatter twice confirming they both made it out in tandem, than the sonic boom of thunder rolled and shook the windows throughout the house. Ka-bang-clack. Ka-bang-clack. The dogs were back inside and bolted up the stairs with lightening speed. My junior high girl was already at our doorway by the time the bitches barreled through.
“What was that?!”, she asked with wide eyes.
It’s true that song about it never raining in California — so much so that the rolling thunder and lightning crashes were a mystery to her in the moment.
Since I was clearly awake, I decided to take the opportunity to also use the loo. The lightening illumed the small cove of our toilet that was offset from the shower stall and the thunder that followed felt like it had exploded directly above our roof. By the time I made my way back to the bed I saw both of my daughters standing in the middle of the room.
“Why are you here?” I asked my college girl.
“I thought it was the apocalypse.” She said with a wink that was implied by her cadence.
“Go back to bed, both of you and enjoy the energy of the storm.” I said as my own head sunk again into the pillow. Our hairless dog, still quaking, slipped back under the bedcovers beside me. Taco decided it would also be safer if she slept in-between my husband and I alongside our hairless cat, who never did seem to wake up for the sky night performance.
Personally, I love the sound of thunder, especially here in the foothills of a mountain range. The crash bounces back and ricochets down through the rock quarry behind our home. It is funny that I can find so much PEACE inside a high decibel atmospheric symphony. But when the storm is raging outside my window there is a peaceful acceptance of what is.
In contrast, when the lightning strikes within my own frame and much the same energy surge is bouncing off the internal contours of my form, I fall from peace into pieces. The thought of lying down in my bed let alone enjoying the storm is unimaginable.
So for now in this moment … all that I can do is enjoy this storm as it is, outside my window in the middle of a peaceful night.
