Murphy Perfect Day

Yesterday was anything but classically perfect, but it was family perfect.  Peanut is sick.  Stuffy, feverish, watery, miserably sick.  The weather was overcast.  The bank account is empty in the recreational funds portion.  The Buckeyes lost to Michigan in the Big 10 Tourney.  Mom was edgy and bitchy (and yes, I looked for a kinder word, but that's the only one  that does it justice folks!)

But we were all home together.  We had nothing that HAD to be done.  We wanted to be home together - nobody yearning or whining to be somewhere else.  We are a family.  We have food in the pantry, including the good potato chips and everything you need to make brownies.  We have medicine for Peyton, boxes of tissue, 7-Up, ice packs to cool her and comfy blankies to warm her.  We have furniture that begs to be laid on - even with your shoes on.  We've got movie channels and Netflix.  We had a fire in the fireplace.

And then we got rain.  The ultimate stay-at-home-lazy-day accessory!  It's like a heaven sent excuse to not do anything.  Read a book.  Work on a website.  Play a game.   Watch a movie.  Make a fire.  Bake some brownies.

There was talk on the news that we might get 'severe storms'.  That worried me.  Sophie is so frightened by storms - especially thunder.  She is a rescue dog and I am guessing thunder reminds her of some scarier times.  Peanut is terrified of the idea of a tornado.  She can remember vividly the time we had to hide in the closet and the sound of the sirens.  Mom isn't exactly afraid of storms, but she doesn't understand the preparation for a storm.  If I bring things up close to the house or light candles or move the big baskets out of the closet (just in case) it really upsets her.  She will stare at whatever is out of place and mumble conversations to herself trying to make sense out of the things that aren't the way they are 'supposed to be' in her mind.

So, I was grateful for the rain we got (we really needed it), but thankful that the severe storms did not materialize.  It poured - big puddles in the yard poured!  And then it let up.  So the boys took off to return a couple of movies.  They hadn't been gone but a minute when the phone rang - with a request to RUN outside to see the rainbow.

It was the kind of rainbow we don't get to see that much here in the suburbs.  A full arc.  Bright colors and a pot of gold at the end, no doubt!  So we called my neighbor - because this was a rainbow to be shared - and we went out front where it developed into a double rainbow.  I wasn't able to capture that with my phone (if you squint your eyes and use a bit of imagination you can kind of see it in the picture below), but I have it in my mind and it was so beautiful.

The sign that God keeps His promises.  A message that everything is happening exactly as it is supposed to happen.  That we are Loved.  A perfect ending to a classically imperfect day that really was Murphy Family perfect!