At 7:00 am the sky was cloudy and by afternoon it looked like we were in for a good, long rain. It was pouring buckets when Tod called at 5:00 saying everyone was being sent home early because of the typhoon.

The rain slowed at about 7:30 and we went out for dinner. The wind was blowing nicely and everything smelled fresh and clean. By the time we finished eating, we finally had our typhoon. We walked home through gusty winds and driving rain. Typhoon 21 was a bad one, the strongest in 60 years. Two people died during the storm, a ship ran aground, 270 flights were cancelled, and there was a blackout of almost 12,000 homes in Kanto.

Despite the dangers, there's something delightful about bad weather. On the way home, I smiled, ran and danced in the rain. I laughed as I wrung my skirt out before going into the convenience store. After arriving home completely soaked to the skin, we put on cozy pajamas and laid in bed with our laptops.

This morning the sky is clear and blue.