I walked home returning from the Sunday ¨la comida¨ with a fast gait hoping to miss the summer rainfall. When the rain starts, it usually hits quite fast – sometimes with violent hail! When this happens everyone stops and usually gets stuck in La Plaza Torico until it passes. I love stormy days during the summertime in Teruel.

Sitting inside protected from the rain, I recall our delicious lunch – chicken pan-fried and a salad mixed with potatoes, peas and carrots. My mother-in-law brought out dessert, raspberry gelato from Muñoz which I cannot resist. I hate and love her for this. She´s a strong-minded, but loving, modern Spanish mother who makes me feel like a teenager, even at my age.

I hear children screaming trying to find protection from the torrential rainfall outside. Lightening strikes. More people screaming as they try to find cover. I laugh feeling a bit guilty and happy that I´m protected by my roof.

Now, the rumbling thunder intermittently rages through the storm. It reminds me of my childhood when I lived in Maryland, days when I used to rollerblade in and out of my garage, getting wet for just a few seconds during a summer East Coast storm. I smile as I watch the rain and now see small pelts of hail fall from my office window.

It´s a perfect excuse to be inside.