Storm Clouds and Rainbows

"If you want the rainbow, you've got to put up with the rain." - Dolly Parton

That was quite a storm we had last night. Merv and I went into a nice Italian restaurant on Yonge street just before the rain started. We stayed and watched the show nature put on for us until it was all done and it felt safe to head home. The rain and winds were violent - the sky an eerie green. I've only seen the sky that colour once before - many years ago when I was still living at home in Windsor and a tornado hit very close to my parents' home. I was not surprised to read in the newspaper this morning that a tornado touched down just north of the city with devastating results for many people.

When the storm ended in our part of the city, around 8:15, the sun began a valliant attempt to come out. We paid our bill and walked to the car. A glorious rainbow filled the evening sky. I look for rainbows all the time. When I'm in a bad space, worried or stressed, I believe my dad creates rainbows in my world. It may sound crazy, but we all have our nuttiness. My sisters think he sends them songs on the radio. That is their thing - rainbows are mine.

The morning of my first breast cancer surgery, we were required to arrive at the hospital by 7:00 A.M. It was November 9 and the sunrise was late. I was very nervous and tired having spent a sleepless night. I rose, bathed and dressed. Merv went downstairs and turned on the foyer chandelier. It was still pretty dark outside. When I left our bedroom to walk down the stairs, I looked down to see the stairs covered in rainbows. Somehow the interaction of the rising sun and the foyer chandelier had come together in perfect harmony to scatter the spectrum at my feet. I knew my dad was with me and I had the comfort that things would be alright.

There have been lots of other rainbows - a glorious one in the sky when I finished my walk at the Weekend to End Breast Cancer last year - a 60K walk made over two days spent almost entirely in the rain. A beautiful rainbow at the end of a challenging hike on a trail in B.C. A spectacular rainbow over the sea in Ireland. Last night, I saw the rainbow and heard my dad wish us a Happy 20th Anniversary. Okay, maybe I'm nuts. But maybe not.