Life is Powerful and Precious

I might be lucky to be alive today. Last night I had a very close experience with the mystery of nature and the awesome powers it contains. Certainly, this little tale can be taken as a warning to anyone who wants to believe it.

Yesterday evening we experienced several thunderstorms, the last of which hit very near bed time. The lightning strikes were close enough that we unplugged our computers. A few minutes into the down pour that accompanied the lightning my husband remembered the garage door was still open. He lay helpless on the couch smoothered by our eleven month old son. I volunteered to run out and close it.

I paused a moment at the door trying to decided which garage light to turn on, inner or outer. I settled on both so that I could really see the raindrops. When I stepped out I saw is was raining really hard and it was wonderful to see since we have been experiencing a drought.

I walked around the back end of my car to see that the rain was splashing considerably far into the garage, maybe three feet. I pulled the door down and slowed it down with my hand. I was in bare feet so I took three or four quick large steps towards the lock on the door. There I was in wet bare feet, turning the lock when I saw (not so much on the “heard”) a huge flash of light and I knew it was bad. I felt it go up my leg! Up the right side of my body! Ahhh! AAHHHHH!

I dodged back between the cars where it was dry. I couldn’t decide what to do, if I was alive, if I was ok. My leg hurt, my right arm felt funny. My skin looked blueish. My heart, I don’t know, it felt funny. I’m not sure it was racing but I was certainly freaked out. I climbed over the hood of my car and up the garage steps. No one could have paid me to go back around the cars through the wet concrete.

When I opened the door, there stood my husband and baby wondering if I was ok. Very dramatically I start up with “I’ve been stuck by lightning”. Well yes maybe I had been but obviously I was ok. My right leg still feels a little weird today, one day after and it ached last night, but mostly I’m just fine. What really amazes me is I don’t really remember hearing it. Hubby started telling me how it hit our backyard and that it was so loud the glasses in the kitchen cabinet rattled. Maybe there was a half second delay between the strike and the thunder. I don’t remember hearing it. However I won’t soon forget it either!

Lightning Strikes