Mother Nature’s Big Event: The Birth of Spring

Photo by DESIGNECOLOGIST 

Nobody, to my knowledge, ever said that birth of anything was easy: birth of a nation, birth of spring, childbirth, for example, and so, from the weather we’d been seeing on the days prior to the first day of spring this year, it was no surprise that this birth was to be a difficult one. We saw on our weather app that a swath of hard winds, heavy rain, hail, and even tornadoes were predicted. Oh, my God! Not a good time to be traveling, we realized a little late.

We’d been driving our pick-up truck, pulling our small travel trailer, which does not aid in giving a sense of comfort and safety when it comes to bad weather. We debated stopping at a safe-looking place and hunkering down for the duration of the storm, or moving on to try and move away from the nastiest part of it. We decided we’d opt for stopping if we could find a place that looked protected enough.

The winds were so bad that many times we thought we were going to be pushed off of the road. And one really scary moment was when we were crossing an icy bridge that had a very short and not-so-sturdy-looking guardrail. While in the middle of crossing the bridge, a wind-gust hit us hard and sent us sliding on the icy surface toward the flimsy-looking false protector allowing me to see down into the river far below. I was certain that was where we would end, and my heart began sending out a fast S.O.S.

Although my screams were not helping my husband’s peace of mind and sense of control, my super driver, with great fortitude and determination, handled the steering wheel deftly at the last moment and was able to turn us toward the middle, away from the precipice.

I was still shaking from my fear ten miles up the road.

Photo by Khamkéo Vilaysing

We’d been past the open fields of Iowa, down through more open fields of Missouri trying to find shelter. But the RV places we came across along the way looked more like open invitations for a tornado to sweep through. Easy pickins’, I thought as we drove quickly past.

We finally found an RV Park that was lower than the freeway on two sides with a small pond, which were big plusses in our minds, as far as safety features from twisters. At least those were our feelings after seeing so much flat land and open spaces on which other RV parks were established that we’d passed up. The RVs parked within those campgrounds looked more like sitting ducks for high winds and the rotating vortexes of violence to pluck from the ground when they happened along. This new place we found looked much less a target and it was a relief to be stopped for the night. But the windy, rainy weather seemed worse the next day when we headed back down the road to our next stop under darker stormy skies.

By the time we found a place that looked hilly and much more protected, it was mid-afternoon. But the real storm, according to the weather maps, was to come the next morning.

Right. Our roof sounded as if it was being pounded by giants seeing who could throw the most rocks at the highest speeds. Conversation was impossible, and the rain was so hard it made an impenetrable veil. Since the sky had looked so black, just before the rain, we awaited the sirens to announce a tornado alert, but the morning passed without hearing that frightening signal, at least in our area. A big relief.

By afternoon, the storm had moved on and blue skies appeared behind the remaining wispier clouds that lagged behind and would soon be gone also. We stayed for two nights to make sure the storm had passed from the southern direction we were to be going, and we could travel in sunshine again.

Prior to this nasty event, we had started the week feeling good because of the heat being nearly 80 degrees. But with the storm that came from the north, we ended up needing to wear three layers of shirts and a coat, waking up to below-freezing temps.

“What the Hell?!” my husband exclaimed. “What’s going on?”

I said, “Well, my dear, since you have never been pregnant, you wouldn’t understand the discomforts and trials of childbirth.”

The perplexed look on his face made me think he was wondering, ‘what does that have to do with this weather?’ I explained. “Giving birth is not an easy event; in fact, sometimes it’s much harder than others, and this was one of Mother Nature’s big events when giving birth to the new spring season. It’s no easier for her than it is for us women, you know.”

Photo by freestocks

His face grew pensive and then brightened.

“Ok. I think I understand,” he told me. “I can’t totally get it, because I’ve never experienced childbirth myself, but I have seen what you had to go through, so I kinda get your analogy.”

I gave him a hug.

He said, “Thank you, my dear, for being so wise.” He then shook his head and chuckled, “I wonder what will happen when Mother Nature goes through menopause?”

I slugged his arm.