More Liquid Sunshine!

We have always had a deal with our kids during their teen years. We won't sit up impatiently drumming our fingertips on the table waiting for them to get home at night as long as they wake us up when they do come in. Sometimes Alyssa forgets (she's the last one left at home), so I invariably wake with a start at a truly ungodly hour wondering if she's still out. Then I have to haul myself out of bed in the dark and walk into her room to see if there's a breathing lump under the red down comforter. (Their usually is.)

Last night she had been down the street at Kassie's, no doubt either watching movies or sitting around the bonfire, which seems to be the typical modus operandi for this crew of teenagers. She poked her head into our room at 2 a.m. to let us know she was safely home. Perfect timing. It meant I was then awake for the crash of thunder loud enough to wake the dead that rocked the house, followed by a deluge worthy of Noah's ark. Enough rain, already! Roads are closed due to flooding all over the state. Farmers have been kept out of their fields past the critical dates for planting, and fields that WERE planted have seedlings that will likely rot. Another tornado touched down south of Marshalltown destroying more homes. Turbulent weather abounds, compounding the heartache inaugurated during a few violent minutes on May 25th just twenty miles north of us in New Hartford, Parkersburg, Dunkerton, and Hazelton.

When I rolled down my driveway at 5:30 a.m. (it was still pretty dark, due to the brooding rain clouds), I saw glowing lights in the hosta border. Fireflies! My heart lifted at the cheery sight. Everyone was a little late to the Target Fit exercise class today. Sheila said she hadn't slept all night because she was afraid of the storm (a little post traumatic stress). Steve hadn't slept because he kept feeling like he had something to do, but he didn't since school let out for the summer yesterday (he's a junior high teacher). I hadn't slept because my five page "to do before we move" list kept scrolling through my mind as I listened to the rain lashing the window by my pillow. Everything looms much larger than life in the middle of the night when there's not a whole lot you can do about any of it anyway.

So, I went to work out, then went to coffee at the church, and now I am going to continue my assault on the basement. I tried to call and make an appointment to have the carpets cleaned, but there have been so many flooded basements this spring that they are booked up until July 11th! I guess I'll be renting a machine and working on it myself. One more thing to add to the list. But I keep reminding myself how blessed I am. I still have a carpet to clean. I still have stuff to sort. Now I better get to it!