Rain rain go away

It is a great day to curl up with a book. Rainy and dreary, a little on the cool side, thunder and lightening. These are really my favorite kind of days. I open the doors and windows so I can smell the rain coming in. The kids like the thunder and lightening and I am glad. They look, listen, giggle and run. We are still in our pajamas today. I do not want to get dressed on these kinds of days. I wish I had a screened-in porch so we could sit out in it, without getting cold and wet.

Seems odd really, I used to hate storms, I was terrified of them as a child. My Mom would shut up the house and the sirens would blare. The elderly neighbor lady Pearl would come over crying and bring her rosary. We would spend hours sitting under the pool table in the basement. Not just for tornado season either, we would hide from the storms. My Mom would run a tub full of water, and wouldn't let us touch the phone. She would bring a flashlight and a small radio.

I am not sure how old I was, but I recall thinking the sirens meant the Army was patrolling the streets for bad guys. I really did. I remember going to the Fourth of July Parade and seeing the Military men marching in front of the tanks and being plain afraid. Thinking I sure hope the sirens didn't go off while we were outside with them. I was so scared I wouldn't even look at them.

So I sit here in the rain smiling, and thinking of all of the times I cried through storms as a little girl. How terrified I was of nothing, and how odd it is that I married one of those men I thought came out when the sirens blared.