The Black Cloud

Hello Friends!

I am back. 

We had a lovely graduation, family time and the party was fantastic.  Thank you for the prayers and well wishes for Sam. I will be sharing photos from our graduation party this coming week, along with tips and tricks if you will be hosting a party anytime soon. And a few things I learned to do for the 2020 Graduation Party!! 

It is good to be back and I think a story is a good way to get back into the groove ..

Our family celebrated Memorial Day by attending the Rice Lake Memorial Day Services. It always is well done. The guest speaker for the past years has always done a great job and again this year. Lakeview Medical Center Hospice Care also spoke this year about the new program they have for Veterans, We Honor Veterans. The coordinator of the program shared a few moving stories of honoring Veterans while on hospice. 

At the end of the service we rose to sing God Bless the U.S.A by Lee Greenwood .. we were led in song by a WWII Veteran. 

As the song began, he was not able to sing, he then announced to all of us "I have been thinking of this all morning, now when it is time to do it, I have forgot the words." All of us in the crowd cheered for him. As the chorus came he got the words back and was able to finish the song. 

We all gave him a standing ovation and many cheers.

It was a great program.

After the service we went to our friends home for dinner and time on the lake canoeing and fishing. We took our canoe for the day.

The weather in Wisconsin has been a wee bit NUTS!! 

Memorial Day was a HOT day, 100 degrees and that is crazy weather for May in Wisconsin.

The weather folks said nothing about storms. Why should they, the sky was blue, the sun was bright and a warm breeze would help cool one off.

We had a great time at our friends, enjoying our time on the lake, fishing (I caught 7 fish!)  It was getting late and time to head for home.

We loaded the canoe up on the rack of our auto.

We heard thunder in the distance. The kind of thunder when you say to your friend "Did you hear thunder?" and they say "I think so,  maybe not, maybe it is a jet, not sure." Because the sky is blue, so why would we think thunder!

We said our goodbyes and on our way we went. We got on to the highway and saw a BLACK CLOUD and we were driving into the black cloud. I quickly got my phone out and looked at the weather. A storm had brewed up, but it should not hit our hometown, we just needed to go along the edge of the black cloud to get home.

We were doing well. We were cruising along .. so was the black cloud.

All of a sudden the wind picked up, it literally picked up our canoe off the top of our auto.

I screamed! 

Jeremy stopped, the boys got out, they tied the canoe down as tight as they could.

Jeremy said we will take it slow, we will get home. Just as he said that, going along at 45 miles per hour, the wind once again picked up the canoe and swung the canoe sideways on the top of the auto.

I am getting out! I am running away! I want nothing to do with driving home with the canoe on the top of our auto.

I begin to scream. "Jeremy, WE HAVE TO ABANDONED THE CANOE!"

We have friends in the area, I say "Can we take the canoe to Dave's?" Jeremy looks at me, the boys look at me, they say at the same time "Mom, Dave's is back that away, two miles back that way, two miles back in the black cloud!"

What are we going to do!

Jeremy and the boys tie the canoe down one more time, we do not make it a wee bit more and the canoe is lifted up and the entire conversation from above happens again, but this time I am louder!! The boys also agree, we need to abandon the canoe. Jeremy agrees we need to abandon the canoe.

 We scan the homes we are around and say "that one looks like nice people."

The storm has not hit yet, but you know how it can be windy, the sky is green and it is going to crack open at any second .. well that is what it was like as we knocked on the strangers door. 

We explained .. we are about 30 miles from home .. can we please leave our canoe .. the wind keeps blowing the canoe over .. we will pick it up in the morning ..  .. THANK YOU!!!

We were blessed that yes, we did come across nice people. We left our canoe. We got home just in time. Then the lighting cracked, the power went out, the hail pelted and the thunder rattled the house.  

In the morning we went and picked up our canoe.

The End!

It is good to be back .. Graduation Party coming up next.

♥

Carla