Shall We Dance?

Almost anyone who knows me, knows that this is probably one of my most favorite quotes of all times. Why? Because I have had to learn to dance in the rain. alot. and I'm quite good at it now. :)  Oh, by the way, don't try to correct my grammar or my punctuation on here lol. Yes, I made straight A's and know how to properly write. But I finished school a really long time ago and I am just here writing out of my heart and soul and I write just like I talk....so relax....{smiles}.  Ok, so meanwhile back at the ranch, "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's learning to dance in the rain." We all have storms that we face in this journey of life. Some storms are severe and the tornado warning sirens are going off~yes I live in Oklahoma and this is a familiar sound. These storms can leave a path of destruction and there can be loss of life if proper precautions are not taken. Its really funny to think back on my childhood memories of growing up out in the country with nothing but farmland and cattle grazing close by. We had an old fashioned storm cellar in the yard beside our house and at night the coyotes would sit on top of the tin door and howl.  I, of course, would howl back. haha. Anyway, it was not unusual to be watching the weather on tv and know we were in the path of the storms...it seemed they ALWAYS went right over us. We would make a mad dash through the pouring rain for the cellar~only then could we hear the sirens going off in town a few miles away~we'd throw open the tin cellar door and be overwhelmed by a strong musty smell. There always seemed to be black standing water in the bottom of the tiny cellar and I did not want to think about what kind of snakes could possibly be lurking in there. The walls were lined with shelves holding all the canned vegetables from the garden, and on one wall there were two large potato bins where we could sit. There was a 2x4 board going from one of the steps to the bin so we didn't have to wade in that nasty water. I pretended it was a pirate ship and we all had to walk the plank. Then I pretended the bins were our ship's bunk beds even though there were no mattresses or cushions, just plywood boards. Gosh, we were like pioneer farm people or something. My sister, who is 10 years older than me, would hide in the potato bin hanging onto a wild-eyed cat while I stood at the top of the steps wanting to see storm. The clouds fascinated me. I saw many tornado clouds and found that exciting, but I somehow knew they were not going to get us and we were safe. I would run out into the yard and dance around splashing thru the giant puddles and run back. It was so much fun...I really could not understand why my sister was yelling at me to get in the cellar! Didn't she know she was missing the best part?? Or maybe I was more scared of the unseen things in the murky cellar water than I was of the storm.  My dad always stood there with his hand on the door ready to close it if we needed to while he was yelling at my mom. Why was he yelling at HER? Because she was ALWAYS still in the house washing dishes or something! She prided herself on her home and what if a tornado did hit and people saw her dirty dishes....ok, so now you all know why I am OCD and the same way. Tornado warning? Yep, I'm washing dishes or putting clothes away or something haha. Oh God love her. Thanks, mom, for passing down that insane perception of what to do. I don't think that is what they mean when they say, "take yer tornado precautions!"
     And then there are lovely storms like today. The rain is falling and its sounds wonderful. Refreshing, relaxing, renewing.....I have the doors open and am enjoying the sound and the smell of rain. I love it because I didn't have to drive anywhere so was not subjected to the wet streets and deep puddles. I can hear sirens, but they are not tornado sirens. When the storm is calm like this, it is easy to dance in the rain, in fact I did go out on the patio for a little bit. Its the storms where the wind is whipping you around that makes dancing difficult.  Regardless, no matter what....the storm always passes. It never lasts forever. There have been many storms in my life, some severe, some not so bad, but all were challenging nonetheless. But what are you going to do when you face a storm? Are you going to hide? Or are you going to dance in the rain? The first time I heard this quote about 5 years ago....I immediately knew what to do.  I think you know my answer.....I learned to dance in the rain.