Boom

A huge storm blew through town tonight. Someone down the street lost half a tree. Our house is fine, although hanging clothes outside to dry today turned out to be a wasted effort on my part.

Abbie was terrified when the storm hit, and by "terrified" I mean "screaming hysterically." She's never been bothered by rain or storms before, but the lightning, thunder, wind, and rain in this one set her off. I pulled her back into her room, which is one of the more sheltered rooms in the house, and did my best to entertain her until the storm passed. I sang, I read, and I asked her brothers to cheer her up. The last tactic as it spurred her to entertain her brothers instead. As she explained, "my brothers aren't funny; only I'm funny."

I know that showing fear is a sign of growing maturity, but I hope her fear of storms isn't going to be a long-term issue. I would be happy, though, if she would start showing some fear of time outs.