"clouds are bumping!"

Down here in the south there are some pretty big thunderstorms that roll thru every few weeks. At first Luxie was frightened (let's face it, Im frightened too!) but I have found a way to ease her fears by explaining the situation a little better, and by teaching her a few songs to pass the time.

One thing that has really helped is telling her the "clouds are bumping." I explained that there are just too many clouds up there and they are all bumping into each other on their way across the sky. Now everytime a we hear a roll of thunder, she excitedly cries out "clouds are bumping! clouds are bumping!" She even says it if she hears a loud noise, like our neighbors' car, or some kind of construction. But it has given her a tangible reason for why the sky is so noisy at times.

You may have heard the song "Rain, rain go away, come again some other day" when you were young, and that is one of the songs I have taught her to help us get thru the stormy days. She likes to sing it all the time, actually, and the other day it really cracked me up.

It was bedtime and everytime I would accomplish one task she would run off giggling and make me chase her down. The first three times were funny, but by the fifth time I was at my wits end. "Luxie, you come back here right now! Right Now! No more playing" I said. And as she walked back into the room and sat down, what do you think she sang? "Rain, rain, go away...."