06.24.08

I love thunderstorms. I was so exciting after we moved here and we got our first summer storm. I followed it via radar on the weather channel. It rolled up from the southeast and hit with a vengeance. It was so cool!

I later found out that this kind of storm is not the norm in Florida. Florida summer storms do follow a pattern but one where the cells will pop up quickly and disintegrate just as fast. If you watch the radar maps, you may think you are going to get some rain and still be bone dry 2 hours later. My sister was done one time and we watched the storm for over an hour but we got no rain. Lots of lightning and thunder, cool, wicked lightning.

After Gail died, Duffy started getting scared during storms. When his hearing was going, he would freak out with the camera flash because he thought it was lightning. Duffy died in 2006.

In 2007, Ryan started being scared of thunderstorms. Up until then, he and Andy never even acknowledged the storms. Last year, he would hide under a blanket usually on my lap. He started going to bed early so he could sleep though them, and he does sleep through them.

This year isn't quite so bad but he still doesn't like them. He is so worried that the power will go out and will now only use my laptop since it has a battery. (I have told him that if the power goes out, so does the internet.)

Andy seems to get a little excited during storms. But I think it is anticipation for a flooded backyard in which he can play in the water.

I wish I could just enjoy the power of the storms but I stay quiet and do my best to ignore them so Ryan doesn't pick up on any vibes.