thunderstorms

Parenting is such an adventure and I love every minute of it.  As a parent, you always have to be on your toes.  There have been many moments where I've felt like the boys were always one step ahead of me and I couldn't keep up with their demands, questions, problems, etc.  So many times it's because I'm trying to do too many things at once.  Sometimes it's because I'm going on lack of sleep and my brain just isn't functioning properly and I'm sure other times it's just because I'm too lazy and just want a few moments to myself so I just let them do their thing (which usually means I'm cleaning up big messes later.)  I had one of these got-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-them parenting moments last night. 

We don't get many thunderstorms up here.  I guess it's because we live by such a big lake or something.  It's such a bummer too.  I love thunderstorms.  However, last night there was a thunderstorm going on as Garrison was heading to bed and, of course, he was scared.  He didn't want Thomas to help him.  He wanted his mommy.  I sat by his bed and we talked.  Well he mostly told me his really funny and crazy stories.  Which usually consists of multiple movies all bunched together with us (his family) as different characters.  As we talked the lightning flashed and the thunder boomed and then God gave me a thought that I shared with Garrison about the lightning and thunder. 

I told him that when the lightning flashed he should think of Lightning McQueen.  Anyone who knows Garrison knows that this kid is obsessed with Cars.  He's so excited for the second one to come out.  We'll be doing a construction paper chain link to count down the days until it comes to theaters when we come back from the cities.  Anyway, back to the lightning and thunder.  I told him that everytime the lightning flashed he should think of McQueen yelling Ca-Chow and everytime the thunder followed it was like Chick Hicks and Lightning McQueen crashing into each other as they raced around the track.  He was very excited about that.  A few minutes later the lightning flashed and I said, "Ca-chow."  Then when the thunder boomed he said, "Did you hear that?  It's Chick Hicks and McQueen."  I kissed him good-night and asked him if he'd be ok with the lightning and the thunder and as he rolled to his side he said, "Yes, that makes me very happy."  Success!  Thank you God for giving me that idea and for turning something scary into a fun little thought for my little boy.

Today we are still experiencing the thunderstorm and every now and then Garrison will say something about Lightning McQueen and Chick Hicks racing and crashing.

I felt a little guilty for not telling him the real truth about lightning and thunder, but Thomas reassured me that he can learn about that when he's old enough to understand.  For now he's having fun with the thunderstorm all because God cared enough about us to give me this little thought to share with my little boy who was scared of something so wonderful... a simple thunderstorm.