Waiting . . .

A thunderstorm starts rumbling. We usually stop what we are doing to pull up a chair and watch. Most of the time, although we are supposedly living in storm country, the thunder never really develops into anything. But sometimes, if we are lucky, we are given a spectacular show - thunder that shakes your bones and lightning that rips the sky in two. These moments seem especially grand here on the prairie. I think it is because we really don't have a lot to distract. The sky is so big. On those rare occasions, the wait is well worth it.

When I was growing up, I was an avid stormwatcher. Some of my best memories are of my mom waking me out of a dead sleep to let me know a storm was on its way. I was spellbound by the sight - all that power, the feeling of being in the middle of something so epic. Now, though, my greatest pleasure comes from sitting with my daughters, watching their delight in the storm and feeling their small hands squeeze my arm at the extra loud moments. It gives me a few moments to say thank you to the Stormmaker for daughters, thunder and prairie skies. ~Mandy