This morning, my cat ran for cover as Zeus sent his thunderbolts slamming down from Olympus. She cowered under the grill in the fireplace, then crawled forward and hid under the blanket draping from the sofa to the floor. Hail rattled the windows and a few particularly loud booms from overhead made me flinch as well.
By the time Briggs returned home, all was calm and I had managed to extricate my cat. I brushed her and rid her fur of the oily coarse feel it gets when she is under stress and shedding.
At 2pm or so, she was crawling into a box in the closet as the sky banged and roared once again. For a while, sleep was impossible as it sounded as though the heavens themselves were ripping to shreds.
We later discovered that this was not far from wrong. The second storm of the day hit us this afternoon, bringing forth flood conditions and mobilizing the Red Cross to set up shelters in case anyone was displaced. Partway through the second round of rain and thunder, a funnel cloud descended on the Science Center (our version of the Exploratorium, just a few blocks from our house) and ripped off roof tiles and blew out third-floor windows.
For now, the skies are quiet again, and gutters merely damp, but warnings remain and there is an 80 percent chance of more storms in the next few days.
In other news, I am eating Quaker instant oatmeal, Berries and Cream (a package of Blueberry and a package of Strawberry).
Also, feeling somewhat more optimistic as my councilor and my mom both lend their ideas and support on getting me into school this fall. And my councilor likes my emails, despite the stressed out nature of them, she says that my amusing writing brightens her day. 
