Fear of Lightning

All the trivia in the world doesn't really help much if I get struck by lightning, so I have to do a better job of staying indoors when there's a thunderstorm going on, and not whistling past the graveyard and continuing to run while hearing thunder in the distance. And sometimes it's not even in the distance: there's apparently a 30/30/30 rule of lightning, is if you hear thunder within 30 seconds of seeing lightning, it's not safe to be outside, and wait 30 minutes until after the lightning has dissipated before going outside. Especially in the summer, there's more warm air on the ground that rises up in the atmosphere causing thunderstorms, so lightning is sure to follow. Just another obstacle for running the summer if you don't live in a consistently balmy temperature area like Southern California: sometimes it gets to high 90s to 100 temperatures, it's humid, the sun is beating down on you during the day so you have to wait all the way until 8:30PM or whenever sunset is for you (in some places like Alaska there IS no sunset), and then when the rain finally comes it's usually in the form of thunderstorms that prevent running as well. And yes, apparently staying in your car is safe in case of thunderstorms as lightning will just hit the top metal portion of your car, dispersing the electric charge so that it doesn't affect you, as your car acts as a Farraday cage. Thanks science! Still, lightning but even more so thunder still scare me a little bit (especially when I'm outside) and they'll likely scare Baby Girl Yan as she's growing up, so gotta get the explanation ready to calm her down. Maybe I'll see it's the sky getting mad at her for not following her dad's instructions? Gotta spin it in my favor somehow. Solid foods are the next obstacle Baby Girl Yan is clearing: she's starting on them and likes the sweet potato version, but she spits a lot out because she doesn't know how to eat yet besides sucking on a nipple. It's incredible seeing a baby grow up day by day, such rapid progress compared to adults who have pretty much crystallized who they're going to be and nothing is suprising; babies can just one day start to crawl and move on their own on the ground, which is satisfying but also terrifying at the same time as now they can go anywhere. For any potential parents who are deciding whether to start a family or not, there are tons of things to be wary of that my pre-parent self was not prepared for, like just the sheer constant grind of being a parent, always having to be there, new things you have to watch out for each month as baby starts developing new areas, but there are other POSITIVE things I wasn't ready for neither, like how good it feels to have a baby see you, acknowledge you, and smile happily. Baby might start crying a minute later, she's moody, but for that minute before when she's smiling, it's one of the best feelings in the world. I hope all parents at least get that; her smiles have gotten me through some difficult times this year, and they're a good distraction in case MJ is upset at me. No one can say no to Baby Girl Yan smiling.