From my archives —

The world is so clean and fresh today after last night’s thunderstorm. We had lots of thunder and lightning. Penelope tried to squeeze under the guest room bed but finally gave up and hid under one of her blankets. I always know when a storm is coming ‘cause she finds a place to hide. Ever noticed the beauty of an early morning after a storm. Every thing looks so green and washed clean. The sun so bright as it rises and wakes the earth. God promises sunshine after storms.

Had another storm this afternoon. The wind was whipping the bamboo around. The new bamboo with their stalks not mature yet really got a work out. I was hoping they would snap off. Pushed a few over last week that were growing right by my bedroom window. Had to chase one of my swing pillows around the porch during the storm. The wind blew the wooden chicken off the screen door and bent the nail holding it. Blew my beautiful geraniums off the plant stands. The wind was viscious for a few minutes.

Pondering on the porch now at 7 pm. Just watched two hummingbirds fight over a feeder. A chubby one and a skinny one. Don’t know why they fight. There are four feeders for them. Just saw a spotted towhee! Oh, I hope he’s a scout and will bring a flock back with him tomorrow. Birds give me so much pleasure. I was always trying to teach Chief the names of the song birds. And he was always asking me their names. I put a feeder right in front of the window in the breakfast room in Alex City so he could watch them while he ate breakfast. I’d come home from work and he’d describe the birds he saw and say, “Mama, what kind was that?” I miss that man! He’d be amazed with all the birds visiting the feeders here.

Got more storms headed our way tonight. You know, we can have storms in our lives, too. I’ve been through some storms in my life but I’ve come to realize no matter how dark the days get the sun will rise and shine and we will eventually feel its warmth. I think the first storm for me was the death of my father. He had a heart attack at the kitchen table after a Sunday night family supper. The chair broke and he fell to the floor. I’ll never forget that sound.

Oldest brother called for an ambulance, middle brother started CPR, while baby brother and I and the rest of the family just quietly stood by and watched. When his leg dropped off the stretcher as they were headed to the ambulance I knew he was dead. He was just 56 years old enjoying being a granddaddy to three young granddaughters. He would love all our family celebrations and would be so proud of his grandchildren and great grandchildren. I was working at the Roanoke Leader newspaper at the time of his death. I read his obituary all day as I stamped address labels on the newspapers. I remember one sentence — “Jimmy McMurray, as he was known to his wide circle of friends, was an outgoing, cheerful, friendly man.” Perfect description of daddy!

The last storm to darkened my world was Chief’s death from Covid. Our whole family was stricken with the Covid a few days before Christmas of 2020. Chief died ten days later on January 2, 2021. I sat at his bed side in the hospital, weeping as he took his last breath. When he died, a terrific storm raged in my life. My Covid sickness kept me from my family, kept me from grieving with his family, kept me in a fog of grief. I moved back to my family home in Roanoke several months after his death and slowly let the sun part the storm clouds of grief.

“Sometimes, you just have to bow your head, say a prayer and weather the storm.” — Zig Ziglar