Mother Nature 1 : Donovans 0
Last night we had a storm. A real frog strangler. It lasted over 2 hours and it has done… us… in.
Let me start by telling you that I can fall asleep almost anywhere at almost any time. My head doesn’t even have to be horizontal. But I have never been able to sleep on Christmas Eve or when it is storming. One flash of lightning or rumble of thunder and my eyelids fly up like a roller shade from a slap stick sitcom. The house I grew up in had these wooden shutters on the outside and they always banged on the house during storms. Wind would whip around between the screen door and front door and I swear it whistled like a freight train. So terrified Anna Kate went running to get in bed with her parents all the way through high school. Yep. That’s right. High school. Apparently I’m not afraid to admit that…
Now I am no longer terrified but I still wake up and am unable to go back to sleep until the storm is over. Fortunately Abigail and Hattie nestle themselves so deep in their beds that they are able to sleep through most weather. We even had to wake Abigail up once during a tornado siren. Laura, on the other hand, is always looking for an excuse to get in our bed so she’s a light sleeper by habit.
Last night the rumbling started about 3am. I, of course, was awake at once trying to get my bearings and figure out what was going on. Robert was comatose on his side of the bed. The storm rumbled on for about 30 minutes before the first house shaking clap of thunder hit the neighborhood. That was immediately followed by what sounded like a herd of elephants coming up the steps into our bedroom. Let me be the first to inform you that a queen sized bed is not large enough for 2 parents, 3 children and a neurotic dog. Much less the blankies and dolls that couldn’t be left alone during such a horrible storm. Ten minutes later we had finally figured out where all the arms and legs should go and made a safe place at the end of the bed for the non-breathing necessities. It was hot and cramped. We were packed in like sardines.
Abigail, being the independent “I’m not a baby anymore” girl that she is, got over her fear within a few minutes and decided that she would rather suffer alone in her own bed. Hattie stayed until the worst of the storm had passed. Laura had cemented herself between me and Robert and was there for the duration. Of…the…night…
Sam, our 13 year old nut job of a dog, usually goes insane during storms keeping Robert and me awake hours after it has ended. Somehow he managed to sleep soundly through all of the commotion last night. He only contributed to the brouhaha for a moment when he barked out loud in his sleep. Go figure.
EVENTUALLY everyone got back to sleep for an hour or so before the alarm clocks started to buzz.
The effects of the interrupted night are evident. Sluggish movement, black rings under the eyes, twisted tongue, lackluster spirit. And that’s just me! The girls look pitiful. I was a little relieved to see the same glazed over expressions on most of the moms, teachers and children at Laura’s school this morning. It was a rough night in Sarasota!
So tonight the defeated Donovans will all be having leftovers for dinner and going to bed early. Except for Sam. He’ll have to turn out the lights…
Tags: Mother Nature, thunderstorm