There was a time when a sky like this excited me. A sky like this meant a storm was coming, and I could almost feel the electricity in the air. For a while, I even considered trying to become a storm chaser. I wanted to move out west and follow tornadoes across the plains. That was before one ripped through our town a little over three years ago.

Now, I watch a sky like this carefully…suspiciously…the movement of each cloud studied and judged. Why are those clouds lifting? Why are these clouds moving in a different direction from those clouds? Was that rotation?!?

Truth is, I’m learning to relax a little more now when storms approach. I still get anxious when it is a “Weather Alert” day or when I see that the Storm Prediction Center has shaded us with anything at the “Slight” risk color or above, but I don’t have the full suite of nervous symptoms any longer. And I’m happy about that. I enjoyed the fascination that I used to have with storms and the weather in general. Having that replaced by nervousness and fear has not been pleasant. I’m not sure I’ll ever have the urge to be a storm chaser again…but a storm watcher?

Yeah…I think I can do that.