It's like Thunder...and lightning.

I know that I pick on Fort Wayne...a lot. I don't intend to be constantly criticizing our city. We actually like it here quite a bit, but there are just things that are different.

I could write hundreds of angry letters to the horrible Fort Wayne drivers, wonder forever what is so special about a Vera Bradley bag, and say mean things about the overall indifferent attitude of my Target cashier.

On the other hand, I could write poetry about how beautiful Fall is here, how much I love the distinctness of the seasons, and how I will forever miss living in this bastion of confessional Lutheranism when Ben receives a call and I have to go live in the real world. I can honestly say I don't hate it here.

There is one thing I do hate about living here. Thunderstorms. Yep, thunderstorms. But, not for the reasons you may think. The thunderstorms in Fort Wayne are beyond ridiculous. It rains, you hear a few distant booms, maybe see a flash of lightning, and it is over. It may continue to rain for two weeks, but that is the entire storm.

I miss a Kansas thunderstorm more than I miss good Mexican food, more than I miss sane drivers, and more than I miss BBQ. I miss the storm rolling in, the way the sky turns odd colors, the shaking of the windows, and the general feeling that your roof might be ripped off your house any minute. I miss the smell outside after a good thunderstorm, the way everything smells clean and new. Most of all I miss hearing the storm raging outside why you lay cuddled up in a warm bed.

We just don't have that here. I try to explain to my friends that have never lived anywhere where thunderstorms reign supreme that they are missing out, but they mostly think that a house shaking, wind howling, lightning striking storm would terrify them, not give them a sense of peace.

I don't mean to over romanticize the storms of Kansas (I can hear you saying too late in your mind), but I think they are part of what makes the people of the Midwest strong people. Storms tear things down, break things, and are unpredictable. When storms rip your life apart you have to rebuild and move on. Weathering all those literal storms, help us to weather the emotional storms that we must in life.

The peace I feel after a violent thunderstorm is akin to the peace I feel after a big fight, a good long cry, and a bowl of ice cream...in my warm and cozy bed.