We haven't gotten much rain over the past couple of months, but last night and early this morning the skies over Charleston set out to make up for the deficit. Colby is living on base this week, so I spent the evening with him, then drove home around midnight, happy to see that the streets were wet and we'd obviously gotten at least an inch or so of rain.
I got home, fed my starving dogs, then fell asleep within minutes. Just a few hours later, I was awakened by a lightning strike that lit up my whole bedroom and a loud crack of thunder. I rolled over in bed, and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but two big brown eyes in a terrified face belonging to a certain yellow puppy dog who lives in my house and is NOT allowed upstairs. With her short hair, the tags on her collar generally give her away when she is nearby, but her fear of thunderstorms seems to give her the ability to slink up a flight of stairs and right up to my sleeping face without making a peep.
I knew I couldn't let her stay upstairs, but I felt awful about sending her back down knowing that she was scared out of her wits, so I hauled myself out of bed, and planted myself downstairs, collecting Jack who was bouncing off the walls with a lightning and thunder induced mania. We settled ourselves on the floor, Ellie in my lap and Jack laying next to me and intermittently making a barking and bounding circuit of the room.
I've always liked the nice rumbly thunderstorms that the South is so adept at producing, but this storm was a whole other animal. The house was shaking with each crack of thunder, and my living room felt like a discotheque with the lightning providing the strobe light effect. But then, without any warning there was a crack of thunder that I swear split the sky in half, and I was immediately thrust back in time, the memory of the cruise ship mishap sweeping over me. I felt like the room was listing back and forth, and the thunder that continued to rumble sounded exactly like the waves crashing against the side of the ship and up over our porthole.
It probably only lasted for a few seconds, but my heart was pounding, and I just hung onto Ellie and kept whispering "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay". It was seriously one of the weirdest feelings I have ever had. I knew I was sitting on the floor in my house in South Carolina, but my brain felt exactly like it was back in the middle of a massive Mediterranean storm.
After about an hour, the worst of the storm passed, and I made sure the dogs were relaxed and in their beds before I headed back upstairs and back to sleep. This morning the skies are still grey and I'm sure the grass is very happy. I was able to sleep just fine, but had to have a grim little laugh this morning. Of course, only I would go on a romantic Mediterranean cruise and come back with a case of post-traumatic stress disorder. Angela, this is your life.
Yeah, that storm was pretty intense! We lost power from like 4AM until 9 or so this morning. I think that is actually the first time we've lost power here, but it sure doesn't surprise me after last night! Noah slept through the whole thing. I remember my dogs always having a hard time, though. It sure did feel like we were in the middle of a massive thunderstorm last night, so I don't think your PTSD episode was unwarranted!
Posted by: Kaela | May 11, 2011 at 05:10 PM
Seriously, it was crazy last night, wasn't it? I normally love storms at night, too. But this one woke me up and Marvin the Dog and I kind of worried we might all blow away at some point. Either that, or something was going to come hurtling through my window. P was working overnight, too, so I was alone in a flashing house with a freaked out dog myself, and, as silly as it seemed, I started coming up with "escape plans" should I need to execute them!
Posted by: Brittany | May 11, 2011 at 05:31 PM
I bet every other passenger on that cruise has a similar case of PTSD!
Posted by: A Super Girl | May 11, 2011 at 06:31 PM
That does sound like a really bad storm. My roomie's dog freaks out when it storms (and for fireworks). So I let him hang out with me one evening. I had to draw the line at the bathroom door though.
Posted by: Thoughts Appear | May 11, 2011 at 06:58 PM
Oooh, yeah...we've had storms like that in WI, too. Definitely not fun - our dogs freak out over *little* storms, so I can only imagine what your poor pups (and you!) were going through.
Posted by: Abby | May 11, 2011 at 07:48 PM
I would freak out! I haven't had experience with many storms since I live in good old Southern California. Your poor pups must have been flipping out! I read your cruise story and Oh Crap! I would have pissed my pants. I've only been on a short weekend cruise down to Mexico and it was definitely uneventful. Hmm... makes me rethink the Mediterranean cruise I had in mind...
Posted by: Solange | May 11, 2011 at 09:05 PM
Thundershirts for everyone! Poor Teddy, one little rumble of thunder and he is scared out of his doggie mind.
Posted by: Jenn | May 12, 2011 at 02:08 AM
I absolutely adore thunderstorms, so I suppose that I should never, ever go on that Mediterranean cruise that is on my bucket list. It truly dosen't seem to be a fair trade-off at all. So sorry, Angela. Maybe a hypnotist if it doesn't go away?
Posted by: sophie | May 12, 2011 at 02:21 AM