I’d watch the sky get darker and darker and hear the thunder clap loudly. It was a game. We’d sit outside until the rain appeared. Then we’d run inside to the porch and watch and listen and wait. The sound of the raindrops always grounded me. As a child, it was one of the only times I loved the quiet. Listening for a rhythm to the drops…I always felt calmer after listening to the rain. Until the thunder and lightning appeared…the calm would be shattered with the searing brightness of the lightning and the booming clap of the thunder.

Sitting and watching thunderstorms on the screened in porch at the house on East Alvord Street is one of my favorite childhood memories. We’d laugh and sit and listen and talk together as a family. I felt safe on that porch. The flimsy screens served as my armor. Nothing would get me. I was with my favorite people in the world, my family….just spending time together.