It is 3AM. I’m startled awake by a bright white flash followed by a loud deep crash.
I used to love thunder storms.
The cool air blowing the curtains, the static sound of rain on the roof, and distant thunder rolling and echoing in a low rumble across the island. As a teenager especially, one with a stormy disposition myself, I’d love to snuggle up in bed and sleep with the storm passing overhead. It gave a sense of calm, even surrender.
These days, with my adult anxieties, I think about the flooding roads. How will I get to work tomorrow if the roads are flooded? I have things to do, I have plans! How inconvenient for nature to do this, to me!
I can see why the ancients may have thought the gods were angry.
The white flashes infiltrating even closed eyelids, the loud booms that shake in your chest, and the rain that never seems to stop. The angry wind bending trees to bow their heads in the presence of forceful nature.
Storms are a way that nature tells us “You aren’t that important, you aren’t that in control”.
As an adult, I don’t like that. As an adult I like to have some semblance of being in control.
When we were children our mother would break out the board games during hurricanes and storms. I don’t remember having to be consoled during a storm, but it may have been a way for her to keep scared children occupied.
Usually the power would go out, but thanks to the wind it would often be cooler than normal in the tropics. Still, it wasn’t so cool that you could stay in bed. A storm in the night was always very uncomfortable if the power went out. But if it was during the day, no problem at all.
We’d sit on the covered patio talking with each other, or play Scrabble in the living room. Still have the Scrabble from 20 years ago, the box is falling apart and I’m sure letters are missing. It’s a keepsake from the simpler days when thunderstorms meant excitement and family and wonder.
Now they’re just inconvenient.
Image used is a commercially licensed stock photo
@jamtaylor, reading this articles just flash flooded memories back when I was young . The storms in the Philippines have been part of our lives. I used to live with my grandnana in a countryside in a house made of wood, roof made of nipa leaves - resembles a coconut leaf, pillars and floors way above the ground to keep us all dry when it storms. You're pretty lucky you get to play while it storms - ours is more of a survival / bootcamp training really. Power outage - we call "brown out" and goes automatically so - when it storms, watched four of my guinea pigs floating on the flood, experienced having to crouch under the master's bed because a coconut tree got uprooted by the strong wind and fell straight through the dried nipa roof allowing the pouring rain in the whole house making us spend the whole night cold and soaking wet in our clothes all of us crouched under one bed and still we've managed to sleep- yet there was something we - my three cousins and I looked forward to after every storm - the fallen fruits from tall trees we couldn't reach, some fish from the sea 10 minute walk away from our house - stuck in the mini pond my cousin and I dug beside the water meter and...the morning after to thank God we were all alive and unhurt. I just wonder how worried my grandnana and aunt were - trying to keep all four kids safe and unhurt. August is the beginning of storm season in my country they've just had 3 as I heard. I hope @tiffjane's plants survived it!
wow, okay so that sounds a lot more 'inconvenient' than mine :P
@jamtaylor - maybe - but I guess it all depends on how "used to things" we've become - honestly - it was my 10 year old self that started fearing the thunder volts and lightnings when storm seasons hit. My younger than 10 year old self - only have memories of what we went through but I don't really remember being afraid - I guess my cousins and I - they happen to be younger than I was - were just waiting for the time it would be over. We knew - it would be over - it was just passing by but when I turned 10 - that was when the worrying about it started most specially because we couldn't swim back then and the water would sometimes reach up to your neck but - I'm almost 40 now we only laugh when we talk about those days. Take care!
Poland is a great country for thunderstorms at the moment!
When I lived in Warsaw I expereinced some crazy thunderstorms. You know your in trouble when u see teh sky getting black and clouds rolling in over the Wisla!
Krakow is equally as wild with her temper!
the photo of thundering is excellent :)
we get a lot of thunder storms around here and i really enjoy them!
great time to break out the candles or start a fire
Nice writing
If you put some music during the storm, especially classic one, you're going to be fully consumed by emotions and forget about inconvenience.
Adults just need some additional ingredients to tune in👌🏻
Great shot. I find that storms make it hard to sleep but conversely if it is just rain I find it quite soothing and relaxing. Worst thing is if the power goes out now - it's so different from childhood - I don't think I even have any board games now.
I always imagine that Thor and Loki are having a fight.
As a Chinese, I don't see similar news in any Chinese media... Actually, I don't think this is true, because steemit is still too small to attract the attention of the government.
However, to register a steemit account is indeed not easy in China, because China banned facebook, and registering steemit needs facebook.
I think you might have the wrong post.