Storm Clouds

Today as I was driving along with Jake in the van, the sun was out and we were remarking that at 108 degrees, it was like a sauna even inside the van.
I have a friend who is saving moving boxes for me, so we stopped to organize the van, then to move the boxes and we were on our way.
About ten minutes toward home, we noticed that there were some low dark clouds coming over the passenger side.  The radio was off because we were talking and as we continued we could see the line on the horizon where the rain was obviously pouring down- it looked like there was no where we could turn to avoid it, so we kept going forward and prepared for the storm. I need new tires, so I scooted over into the right lane and slowed down, trying to be cognizant of my limitations. Then we turned on the lights and the fog lights just in case.  
First came the wind which seemed to be coming from every direction, and the swirling clouds overhead which were so distracting because I kept waiting for them to turn into a tornado any minute- they were so low it seemed I could touch them through the sunroof. 
The temperature dropped 40 degrees and the rain started in fat drops on the windshield.  Funny thing about being in a storm - you are so preoccupied with handling the storm and what is immediately in front of you that you can miss out on everything else surrounding you.  A big twister could have come through a stand of trees and I would have missed it - because I was busy trying to stay on the road and manage the rain. Lightning was everywhere in blue blazes cutting across the gray sky - visible even through my mottled windshield.
We made it home in one piece - no more worse for wear adn with a great story to tell about how the wind whipped us around and the rain pounded the car.

But the point of this really isn't about the rain- it is about those low dark storm clouds which stirred up fear - to the point that I finally asked Jake to stop talking about them.
That fear and the concentratio on the clouds was distracting - and kept me from focusing my full attention on the road in front of me as I kept trying to steal a glimpse of what he was talking about and plan for a possibility that was improbable.
We had some other storm clouds this morning - of an entirely different nature - and they are threatening to bring twisters and wind which could throw us off coarse.
I learned something today: keep focused on what is most important, keep moving forward, and stop trying to glimpse at something that is a possibility rather than the absolute that is right in front of me. If I keep looking over my shoulder, I will end up missing the hazards in front of me - and I have to pay attention.  Just because it is noisy and full of threats, doesn't mean it is really any danger.
I needed that lesson today - Thanks for that.