Quote of the Day:
“We can never have enough of nature. We must be refreshed by the sight of inexhaustible vigor, vast and titanic features, the sea-coast with its wrecks, the wilderness with its living and its decaying trees, the thunder-cloud and the rain.” –Henry David Thoreau
There is nothing like a pre-dawn thunderstorm and the sound of rain beating down. TB had a classic this morning to enjoy, a full on thunderstorm with rollers and cracklers and boomers and even distant rumblings, an occasional lightning streak. I don’t know why it is a storm makes for such satisfying rest and its daylight leftovers give so much energy to what would otherwise be another boring summer day at the office. Maybe its the subconscious awareness of how far mankind has come since our earliest ancestors’ cowered within a shallow cave to escape the elements or maybe its just that the noise chases away the more pressing concerns of daily life from the edge of consciousness where they always lurk, even in sleep.
I think there may be something to that second one, for a small child with no store of tension to be released by the sounds focuses only on the fact that the thunder is loud, unusual, and frightening. This is so with my little girl. She does not like the noise. Her fear is counter-weighted however by the storm’s temporary releasing of my own fears. The greatest of these is the certainty that as her Dad, charged with her protection from all things which may bring sadness or pain for all of her days, I am doomed to fail. The subtle, nagging guilt for this predestined failure is as real as it is irrational. But there are things I can protect her from. One of them is midnight thunder. When she reaches for my protection, I am for her at this tender age, greater than the storm. She clasps my arm and finds a way for her entire body to be in contact with mine and both our fears fade away.
Travellinbaen 
My daughter really dislikes thunder storms too. I feel the same way you do – at least this is an event I can protect her from! I won’t always get the chance to just hold her close and tell her everything will be just fine. That it will all be over with in a little while. At least I can do this for her now. Well, until she gets too big to be scared of them anymore! 🙂
The comfort and peace one can find in the arms of their parent is priceless. I’ve had days I wished I could still climb up in their lap. There will come a time you cannot make something go away but you will still be able to be a comfort and a source of stability. It may not come in the touch of your hug but it will cross the phone line in the sound of your voice. All that sweetness aside, I love, love, love the bad weather. I love to be out in the bad weather, as long as the lightning is not too bad. When tropical storms or hurricanes are coming in I like to be down at the seawall and watch the waves and listen to the crash. How someone can look at all that and not see the power of God I do not know. We had terrific lightning last night coming in from the West with lots of thunder close to bedtime. Makes it quite nice.
Ah, we had the most excellent storm Monday night. Some of the loudest thunder I’ve heard in some time. And with every loud boom a voice hollered at me from in the shower, “Did ya hear that, mama?”
Fast forward to Tuesday morning, when I unexpectedly got the day off from work. Sam had school and I went back to bed!!! I love sleeping in rainy weather.
I love a rainy night…
Supposed to rain this evening. Fingers crossed.
So I was out and about earlier and I could see the clouds coming in and I thought back to this post. And my comment, which I managed to make all about me. So anyhoo…
I absolutely loved what you said about your daughter. I sometimes secretly wish Sam was freaked out by storms. And when she’s older and it storms she’ll always remember how you were brave and kept her safe from the thunder.
It is also nice when your child chooses you to be the one whose lap she/he climbs into. Those days are long gone for me but I have wonderful memories – makes me miss my baby.
My post had enough sentimentality, which as you know ol’ TB is susceptible to, so I didn’t want to add to it here in the comments, but I do appreciate all of your thoughts on the matter, as always.
And the only sleep better than rainy night sleep is boat sleep, rainy, but not windy boat sleep is even better.
No wave rocking sleep – I absolutely hate that! My husband, however, loves it – sleeps like a baby which only adds to the injury. But he is kind enough to take me on home when the sea does not behave itself for me.
Ryder is right at that age to be terrified of storms, his tight crasp always makes my heart melt. Although I love this, I can’t wait for the day that he is able to enjoy a good storm and get lost in the mystery of it all. Great post TB!