Too many things came up this summer, and we are missing seeing our family along the banks of Lake Michigan. I anticipated missing seeing parents and siblings, but I'm always surprised when I actually miss the violent storms that are a fact of life up there these days.
Increasingly, south western Michigan sees storms coming off the lake that morph into tornadoes. It's always scary when it happens or is being reported, but it's also more than a little exciting.
I don't wish for death the way I did when I was younger. I even fear it a little now, and when the storms come, sometimes threatening wife and property and getting hearts pounding with the wind, they are powerful reminders of just how alive we actually are.