Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain

Waiting for the Storm
Originally uploaded by Giant Ginkgo.

Chicago is normally a pretty peaceful city but last night, the skies unleashed a fairly nasty dump of rain, wind, and lightning that made Lake Michigan really angry.

The waves crashed onto Lakeshore Drive and "I know this because" my boss called and told me he could see them from his livingroom window. Granted this was not entirely responsible phone usage, but our conversation was short so don't worry.

Just as the first fat raindrops started to hit the pavement, I completed my umpteenth load of laundry to remove any telltale evidence of recent house guests (did we really use that many bath towels?!). And I settled onto the couch, Preston stretched out across my chest, to watch the lightning and listen to the rain thumping against the open windows.

What the?! Okay what followed was a race around the house to CLOSE all the windows but then resettlement on the couch ensued and there I stayed until 10pm. The TV kept reporting tornado watch after tornado watch, but I haven't found out whether rural Illinois got battered in that way. Chicago just suffered some felled trees, squished cars, and deep puddles.

And there is nothing like falling asleep to the sound of a thunderstorm, safe in the knowledge that you have clean underpants to put on the next day.