I'm Drowning!

Okay, I'm not really drowning, but if this storm keeps up, I very well may be! It's been raining fairly steadily all day, and this evening it poured. And poured. And poured. And poured. And poured. You get the picture. It would slow down for a few minutes here and there, but for the most part it poured buckets. I told Judy that we were going to need oars - and an ark. It's been a long time since I've seen a downpour like this here.

I took the girls out during one lull, and they weren't too happy about it. Neither was I, since Misty refused to leave the deck until I went out there with her. So all three of us got soaked. Yes, I did say it was during a lull, but it was still raining quite hard. I tried to get some video footage through the door (no way was I about to take my camera outside!), but it didn't turn out very well. I did see some rain - got a decent shot of drops in a puddle, as well as water streaming off the roof. I also got a good shot of the Chokecherry tree waving wildy in the wind. However, the video was very choppy and I suspect would have made everyone seasick, so I deleted it.

The rain slowed down considerably about 15 minutes ago, and so far it's fairly calm out there. There are still some ominous looking clouds out there, and it's still intensely humid, so we may get some more rain before the night is over. I've been enjoying it very much, I must say. It's so cozy sitting inside, listening to the rain pour down. Now that it's settled down to a drizzle I'm missing it. We got a few peals of thunder, but nothing to write home about - once again I was disappointed to not be treated to a rip-roaring thunder storm.

Misty was pleased, though, I'm sure. She does NOT do thunder well. I vividly recall waking up one night to a small furry dog climbing over my head, and firmly planting herself right in front of my face - sucked up so close that I couldn't breathe. That was the spot that was furthest from the window, where she could still firmly attach herself to me. I managed to move her enough so that I could breathe, but the poor thing shook like a leaf until the thunder finally quit. She really is pathetic when it comes to thunder (and many other loud noises), so my heart goes out to her, poor baby.

In other news today, I would like to ask anyone reading this to send some prayers out for a couple of coworkers. Last weekend the father of one coworker fell two stories and landed on his head. He was in and out of neurosurgery a couple of times that we know of, and the last update as of a couple of days ago was that he was not doing any worse, but also not doing any better. He was responding to pain, but not to any other stimuli. The family was summoned home (his parents live on the other side of the country), and all the doctors can do at this point is wait for the swelling of the brain to go down, and see what happens from there. It is not sounding good. So prayers are needed for this man and the family.

For the last couple of days another coworker has not been feeling well. She's been dizzy, disoriented and a bit naseous. She was thinking it might be the flu, or that perhaps she was pregnant. I was feeling it was something else, and wondered if it could have something to do with some medication she's on. Tuesday afternoon she was feeling so poorly that she went to the doctor. She called and left a message yesterday morning saying she wouldn't be in but to call her back and she'd tell us what was going on. We called, and got no answer. This morning she called again, with the news that the doctor decided to do a CT scan, and they found a spot of some sort on her brain. She is seeing a neurologist tomorrow, so we should hear something further after the weekend. We are all quite worried as this seemed to come on very suddenly, and she told one of the girls that she is more disoriented today than she was yesterday. So she seems to be sliding downhill quickly with this situation. We are fervently hoping that this is something they can deal with effectively and quickly. So prayers are definitely needed for her as well.

I was very upset by the news, but even moreso because she and I had been talking about how ill she was feeling on Tuesday morning, and we were both hoping that it was because she was pregnant. She's been trying for several years, and she would have been thrilled to get that news. When she told me what was going on this morning, I couldn't help but feel very sad, and a bit angry on her behalf, over how far removed the reality was from the hoped-for diagnosis.

With such nasty things going on with two of our coworkers this week, I must admit that I'm feeling a bit jumpy and hoping nothing happens to anyone else there - or to anyone in our families. I was just thinking that the old saying - "it never rains but it pours" - seems very fitting this week - not only with my coworkers, but also with the weather. There's almost an eerie synchronicity there.

There's not much else to talk about tonight. I'm exhausted, so I think I will pack this in and head to bed. I wish you all a wonderful night, and very sweet dreams!