I should have paid more attention to the weather app before walking, but I played Wordle and Connections first. I did look at the app when neighbor Joyce texted that she wasn’t sure if we were going to have a shower. At 8:00 I hurried outside and was so intent on looking at the sky that I didn’t notice neighbor Shawn sitting on her porch. I’m glad she called out to me so that I could answer and wave. That’s when I noticed it was already sprinkling!

Joyce was game to walk. Sprinkling stopped a few minutes later. Good call, so far. After turning around at the stop sign, we were not halfway home when thunder boomed behind us. I stopped and turned around to see the sky. A dark cloud was gaining on us quickly, and I stepped up the pace. Joyce says I always speed up going downhill, but this was truly intentional.

At the beginning of our street I took a photo of the sky ahead, looking like a front going through. Joyce said, “The sun is shining the other way.”

Shawn, aware of our being out there, texted later, “Did you get wet?”

I replied, “Well, Shawn, define wet…. I was rained on from her driveway to my porch. I was warm enough that it felt good. I didn’t get wet. I was dampened. Not the spirits, just the hair and shoulders.”

Here is the rest of our conversation.

Shawn, “So after you left I got a notification that there was a close lightning strike!!”

Anne, “Did you hear the thunder?”

Shawn, “Yes. Bob was thinking he should pick you up in the golf cart.”

Anne, “Thank you very much for thinking of us. I am glad Bob did not risk his life for us, particularly since we were not struck down.”

This all goes to show that the world’s best neighbors try to protect me from my stubborn decisions. I appreciate that and will try to be more responsive to their concerns.