It thunderstormed a little last night. That’s one thing I miss about the Midwest, lying in bed at night with the window open when the smell of rain starts coming in and the thunder so close you can feel it in your chest.

Spokane takes its role as the Lilac City seriously. You can go down whole streets without passing one lilac-less yard. The two go together in my mind, lilacs and thunderstorms. It reminds me of late-May track meets back home when storm season was starting and I’d come back from a cool-down run with lilacs for me and Laura and an eye to the rumbling clouds. Lilacs meant the big meets were coming. So it’s been a long time now, but I still get a little of the knotted-stomach instinct when I smell lilacs while running.