Here comes the rain....again

Nicole was a dud. A complete disappointment. Honestly, she should be ashamed of herself. And when I speak of Nicole, I mean Tropical Storm Nicole. When I looked up the weather Tuesday afternoon, because the typical afternoon thunderstorm was a bit angrier than usual, I was slapped with a 36 hour forecast that included "High winds and Heavy Rain, associated with Tropical Storm Nicole...". Uh, excuse me? My first thought was, "Where the hell have I been...?". My second thought was, "Oh crap, I have become one of those women/mothers that are completely out of touch with reality...". I called Steve in somewhat of a tizzy asking if he was aware that this thing was brewing out there. Nope, he had no idea either (and he touts himself as a meteorologic genius, so I was immediately comforted). Thankfully, this was just one of those storms that kind of sprung up out of nowhere without much warning. Whew! So I'm not completely clueless. And just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, I turned on the weather channel to find this unsettling sight: Jim Cantore reporting live from Ft. Lauderdale Beach. And anyone who knows anything about weather knows that this is not a good sign. Without missing a beat, the Weather Channel's face of doom and gloom stood just a few short miles from my Dad's house and our office ramping up the drama, as only Jim can do. Thankfully, he was wrong. When I awoke that morning, the radar was not pretty. It was a kaleidoscope of colors, blanketing the entire southern peninsula. It was decided that I would keep Emily home from school and Steve would stay an extra day in Pensacola (because Lord knows, he hasn't been gone long enough). Wednesday was a Florida kids version of a snow day. We ate a late breakfast and lounged around in our jammies until well after 11am. We played games, and dress up, read books and watched movies. I caught up on emails and phone calls. Yes, we were hunkered down for the big wind. And then, nothing happened. It rained, or rather drizzled, the entire day without much of a break, but come on. This is Florida. Rain is as much a part of our life as sun. And for a moment I thought, our day was ruined for THIS??

Then, that bitch named reality slapped me, hard. She reminded me that my day was not ruined, it was made. That day I had my two healthy, happy, beautiful babies home with me...with no expectation to be anywhere or do anything. That day we could just be. And we did. That day I was a happy mama. I was complete. So, I guess instead of insulting Nicole, I should be thanking her. Life is too short. Live like there is no tomorrow, Laugh until it hurts, and Love with everything you have. Enjoying all the small blessings in life....