Let me share some more summertime memories with you.
As a child in Kansas, thunderstorms could come suddenly, sometimes in the middle of the night. Nothing scared me quite so much as the combination of my two greatest fears: being struck by lightning and getting left alone in the dark. Nothing, that is, except for a series of lightning flashes so concentrated and continuous that they appeared even brighter than daylight.
My parent’s bed was only one room away and on those occasions became my immediate destination. I dove into the collection of family members there, finding my two younger brothers already camped out. With each additional strike, we’d bury our heads deeper under the covers, cuddling ever closer to one parent or the other.
The close proximity of our bodies in this double-sized bed made the humid air all the more suffocating, not to mention the earlier divulged cover-diving. My step dad continued snoring on despite the squirming surrounding him. My mom made a shushing noise as she calmly rolled over. Didn’t they know we were under attack?
I arose groggily the next morning from my own bed rubbing my sandpaper eyes and massaging my aching limbs from a hard night of no sleep. I wasn’t sure how I ended up back in my bedroom, so I must have fallen asleep at some point. It didn’t seem possible.
Isn’t that bacon I smell? Mmmm €¦Yum, and maybe pancakes, too.
My mother, with a cheery smile and bright, well-rested eyes greeted me good morning. She handed me a chilled glass of apple juice to sip while I waited.
I was in for a shock as I looked out the window. What! I can’t believe that beautiful blue sky and puffy white clouds. Where’s the rain, the thunder, the lightning?
Just then, my brother dragged himself out to the kitchen. He, too, looked like a candidate for a good night’s sleep. No, we had both been part of the same nightmare, but the storm actually took place. It was a typical summer thunderstorm in Kansas.
Dianna
Sharing the Fruit of Maturity
