It's been a gray and overcast morning, and it was already raining and thundering as I walked back into the courthouse this afternoon. All looks clear now, but tornadoes and hail are predicted later tonight... we'll see what happens! ...Anyway, I'm putting off my LifeChurch post for this one: Top 10 Tuesday ~ Memorable Storms (in very random order).
1. Disney World 2003, Thunder Mountain & Bakery ~ Me, Rach, JoBug, and Emily were all waiting in line to ride the Thunder Mountain Rollercoaster, and it started to rain... they thought it might stop quickly, so everyone stayed in the crazy crowded line for at least an hour.... we all sat down and got semi-comfy, talking and laughing and meeting the people around us as we waited and waited and waited. When we finally decided to face the fact that it wasn't going to stop any time soon, (and that we wouldn't wanna be the first on the ride even if it did), we ran across the street to the nearest shop to buy some ponchos. Then we headed to a little bakery next door and had some amazing brownies and cookies, because chocolate makes everything better. We sat in there talking for quite a while. I'm sure we complained about the misery of being soaked and missing out on the rides..... but looking back, I remember that day more vividly than anything else about our trip! All of us being together, totally drenched, talking and laughing and hanging out! (I wish I had a picture here, but no such luck.)
2. San Antonio 2008, Driving from SeaWorld to our Hotel ~ For inexplicable reasons, Rach and I went to SeaWorld in the middle of the Hurricane Dolly storm, and it was already POURING when we got there. We ran in and grabbed some ponchos, then we got to see the two shows we'd wanted to see, then got to pet and feed the dolphins that morning, which was fantastic. Rach even got to ride her rollercoaster when the rain settled down for a minute. (The fact that almost no one else was there that day made everything much faster! lol) But around noon, it got really bad and they decided to close down the park. :( We saw so many awesome things, and I'd love to do SeaWorld again when we have more time... but what I remember most from that day is them announcing the closing, then Rach and I both taking off our flip-flops so we could run faster to get back to our car.... at that point, we were already drenched, so umbrellas and dainty steps were pointless... splashing around in all the huge puddles and twirling around in the rain was pretty awesome and fun! Sadly, we were about 30 minutes from our hotel, and our drive back was seeeeriously treacherous and terrifying, so I was busy praying for our safety at that point (Rachael drove, thank God). But we lived to tell about it, and it's another rainy day memory that I love now! :)
3. Bobbi's House 2010, Carl's Going Away Party ~ The Diving Deeper Lifegroup was meeting at Bobbi's on Carl's last night with us, sitting around and telling our favorite Carl stories, eating cake and ice cream, watching the weather and patiently waiting for the rain and Tornado Warnings to let up. Chet Lee and Nater-tot were out on Bobbi's front porch keeping us updated. Me and Bobbi were talking about where we should go if there actually was a tornado on the ground in the area. Thankfully, that didn't happen!
4. Boomerang Restaurant 1999, Dinner with Mom, Rach, and Kate ~ The infamous May 3rd tornado of 1999... Eating dinner with Mom, Rach, and Kate after their Club Volleyball practice... watching the weather and realizing we were really close to the tornado, so everyone in the restaurant crowded into Boomerang's kitchen to take shelter! I remember Kate freaking out when they announced the strength of the tornado on the radio... telling Rachael, "This is my serious face!" ...But we were safe, thank God. It was the longest drive home ever, so I remember that pretty well too. (At least we got the comedic relief of watching Kate duck to miss the bird flying out of their front door wreath when we dropped her off!)
5. Big Cedar 2011, Cozy in the Cabin ~ After a fun sunny day at the pools, it started to rain around 5, so we stayed in the cabin, put on comfy clothes and opened the balcony door, talking and snacking and loving the sound of the rain! :)
6. Amarillo Trip, Driving Back to Oklahoma ~ JoBug driving, Mom up front, me in the back. They were listening to the weather on the radio, and major storms were surrounding and chasing us that whole drive. The clouds were scary and ominous, and I was pretty freaked out that a tornado was going to touch down! So I listened to JB's "Hank the Cowdog" tapes with headphones in, trying to tune out the weather reports and the sound of my own fear! lol I remember that drive so well, though... Funny how panic locks in certain memories!
7. Harry Potter World 2015, Huddled in the Tiny Crevice ~ Waiting out a random mid-day rain with Chet, Karli, Jeff, Kyle, and Sarah... we found a tiny little spot where we were all under a covered roof but had just enough room for us to all stand up. I so wanted to go in somewhere we could sit down or at least open my poncho and go twirl around in the rain, but my ideas were quickly vetoed. lol So we leaned against the jagged rocks and watched the fire-breathing dragon and the people scurrying to get out of the rain, and we talked about our gameplan for the rides there and at Disney the next day! :)
8. Kaffe Bona 2011, Watching Joplin Tornado News ~ I was in a BattleCreek small group with Emily, Anna, Sarah, and Brittany. The five of us were meeting for coffee at Kaffe Bona, then ended up watching the news more than talking. The Joplin tornado was near Brittany's sister (it eventually destroyed their home, but they were all safe), and I remember us all being tense as she made several calls to find out where they were and if they were all safe, then praying together before we left. (Soon after that, the BC group and the lifegroup paired up to go to Joplin and help her family and others affected by that tornado).
9. Random Tornado 2001? ~ Don't know for sure when this was - living in Oklahoma, you get used to tornado season and sometimes end up selfishly feeling annoyed when your shows get interrupted for unending weather updates and warnings... But when it hits close to you, it's always more memorable! I remember one that was close to Midwest City, where we could hear the sirens going off. Mom was watching the TV reports, I was sitting in the hallway by the back bedroom, holding and talking to Kelsey (our Sheltie dog), and Rach was fuh-lipping out because Dad wasn't home yet!! (Spoiler alert - he made it, and all was well! lol)
10. Three Oaks Drive, Butterscotch Pudding ~ This one might be slightly off as it's an early childhood memory, but I remember swimming in our first pool, then when it started raining, me and Rach coming in under the covered patio, getting wrapped up in a towel, then sitting at our picnic table and eating Babah's butterscotch pudding... yummers... looking out at the rain! :) I also think I remember a tennis shoe phone being out there, which seems super random. lol I'll have to ask Mom about that one...
Anywho, I know it can seem dreary, but my brain mostly associates rainstorms with happy things -- either that or the melancholy-ness matches my Coldplay mood, and that's nice sometimes too! I'm thankful for the peaceful sounds of rain, and for occasionally being forced to slow down long enough to remember what's really important! Anyway, I'm off to let the girlfranz in and get back to work on my painting! :)
Stay safe tonight!!
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