BOO!

We heard the first rolls of thunder while in the pool. I glanced up and could see the sky starting to turn. It had been extremely hot and humid again to that point and the water in the pool was almost 90. It was pleasant only because it was wet. We’d been expecting thunderstorms, even looking forward to them. And here they were.

Finally.

We eventually retreated to inside the house as the thunder got louder, closer and more frequent. The sky got darker as well. The storm developed to a point of a near constant roll of thunder. No rain. The first shot of lightening happened so fast we wondered if we’d really seen it- a light blue blinked across our eyes and vanished. The thunder moments later was our only confirmation it had happened.

The waiting finally ended about 45 minutes after those first rolls of thunder. The rain came down in a heavy stream. All the water that we knew was in the air finally condensed and became visible. The temperature dropped 10 degrees seemingly in an instant.

The thunder wasn’t rolling any longer. They were loud claps. Lightening didn’t blink and vanish. It lit up the darkened sky.

The dogs were pacing, unnerved by all the noise from the rain and the thunder. The kids bounced around a bit, excited by the intensity of the storm, the lass most of all.

My opportunity came at the height of the storm. She was sitting on the edge of the couch, talking excitedly to the Wife. I could tell she was amped up because of the storm by the way she stuttered along in her speech. Her brain was sending words to her mouth faster than it could produce sound. She was worriedly asking the Wife what would happen if a certain flower broke because of the rain. Her concern for all things great and small is endearing.

I was standing two paces behind her, in her blind spot. She was staring out the window at the buckets of rain pounding down. I had just jokingly ZAPPED! the boy a few times to make him laugh, thus the idea was fresh in my mind and when I recognized the opportunity, I acted quickly.

I silently took the two steps towards her while she still faced away from me. Outside, more thunder rumbled and the rain continued to pour. I reached out with my hand and ZAP! I quickly but gently goosed her in the side while yelling.

Her reaction was instantaneous and hilarious. She screamed and jumped out of the couch, right from her sitting position to fully standing and ready for action. She’d spun 180 degrees during her jump so that she was now facing me. Her arms were out in front of her, ready to ward off potential attackers. Her eyes wide as she continued to process what had just happened.

My reaction was instantaneous: I laughed. I kept laughing even as she started chasing me into the kitchen. I laughed more as she started swatting at me playfully- expending the jolt of adrenaline she’d just received. The Wife and the boy were laughing as well now.

She was an exceedingly good sport about the whole thing. She’d been had and she knew it. After enduring her swats for a bit, I told her to settle down and she did. She walked back to the couch and got a hug of reassurance from the Wife, even though she was still chuckling at the lass.

Nothing like a good ol’ thunder storm.