Thunderwith

Remember when the Hallmark channel didn’t exist? You would wait for weeks for the next Hallmark Hall of Fame movie to be aired on television. This was regular television. No cable needed. There were so many good movies put out by Hallmark during that time. They still make good movies, but back then they seemed special. 

You’d already be crying from the movie, and then they would play the Hallmark commercials and make you cry more. I loved these movies. Recently I was searching the internet for my favorite Hallmark Hall of Fame, Echo of Thunder. I once had bought this movie on VHS, so I thought maybe I could find it on DVD. No such luck. I did however find the book the movie was based upon. I highly recommend this young adult novel. It’s called “Thunderwith,” and was written by Libby Hathorn.  

It is a story of a young girl named Lara Ritchie. Her lighthearted, full of life, and adventure seeking mother passes away and she is sent to live with her father whom she has never met. Her father has been married for years to a quiet, hard working, serious woman. They have four children together and Lara has to not only learn how to navigate living with a father she has just met, these four siblings that she has just met, and a step-mother who doesn’t seem to accept her, but she is bullied by the neighbor boy each day. This book is filled with sadness, trial, hurt, and healing. It’s a beautiful story that anyone who has gone through change, lost a loved one, or has had to survive a fearful time in life can identify with. 

Lara is also a city girl that is now learning to live on a palm farm.  She must learn how to work hard. Everything about her life there is difficult. She finds the need to take walks alone, away from the family. It is on her first walk that she meets a dog that looks like a dingo.  She feels the dog was sent to her by her Mother to help her cope. She meets the dog on a night when a storm is coming and she says, 

“ With thunder, with thunder, you’ll come
Undreamed of battles to be won!
She’ll know at once your spirit strong
And when you’ve taught her all you know
With thunder, with thunder, with thunder
You’ll go.” 

I think that one of the things I identify with the most in this book, is not just the loss of a parent at a young age, but the relationship between Lara and Thunderwith. I have had pets that have gotten me through very difficult times. When my Dad died and we moved a lot Fluffy was my constant companion. When I lived in Long Beach and needed to heal from a broken heart, Neo was the balm I needed. Ingo has seen more tears from me and been the one I cried on more times than I can count. When I lived in the mountains I befriended a neighbor cat. He was so sweet. I named him Thomasina, and he came to that name. I fed him and he would play with me every day. There was a large hill behind our house with huge pine trees and when I read this book I imagined me and Tom. I would go up on the hill and he would follow me. I would sing, and dance around while Tom listened and danced with me. He was the sweetest cat. I was heartbroken when we moved and I had to leave my friend. 

After that I think I bonded even more deeply with my cat, Fluffy. He was given to my sister and I by my Dad when I was just five. He was kind of a jerk sometimes, but he loved me. I deserved his jerkiness though, because I tortured him quite a bit as a child. Fluffy got me through moving to Arkansas. When I had to say good bye to him, I thought I would cry a river. Before I lost Fluffy to kidney failure I had gotten my very first dog, Cali. She was a golden retriever and the funniest girl. She had so much energy and I thought she would NEVER stop chewing things up. She was my best friend. We did everything together. She would spend time with me in my room. We walked the neighborhood together. She was my first photography subject.

My current golden is a big baby. He has been the easiest dog. He is so compliant and protective. I am so lucky to have him. 

Each of these animals came into my life with thunder. I fell in love with them. They each had/have beautiful personalities of their very own. They have taught me many lessons. Things I needed to learn at the time. They were there for me when I needed them most. They came into my life and a booming spark of joy filled me. When they each have left a storm followed. A storm of sadness, pain, loss. I identified so deeply with this book, because just like Thurnderwith, “with thunder, with thunder, with thunder, they left me.”