Storming

There was a big thunderstorm in Grinnell this evening--an Iowa summer doozy, complete with about five houseshaking claps, two of which made the tornado alarm (which seems to be very close to our house) get stuck on a constant high note for a while. The whole time, Pete was with Carolyn in Des Moines, and I happened to talk to Carolyn right at the beginning of the storm, so I knew they hadn't gotten any of it. Still, for the whole duration of the thundering, I was intensely anxious because I know that sudden loud noises really bother Pete. As in, at a certain level of intensity well below that of a concussive thunderclap, they make him scream inconsolably. So I spent the entire storm awash in a near-panic of parental protectiveness that had neither cause nor outlet.