Feeling better today. That the sun is out and the day is brilliant surely has much to do with it. Dex and Edward are off for the afternoon & evening at a Cub Scout event. The girls are napping. Davey and I are hanging out, watching TV, doing laundry, just being.

Last night, the rain continued, not hard but steady. I was up late, unable to settle my mind. Jules lay sleeping next to me on the guest futon while I read. We finally went to bed (in my bed) around 1 a.m. Forty minutes later, Mae woke me with her cries. I got out of bed but she stopped and fell back asleep. Jules was snuggled in next to Dex. The wind was beginning to kick up. I went to the small window at the back of our bedroom and watched the rain lash sideways over the barn roof and the trees whip back and forth. For several minutes, it got intense - I watched the grey, formless sky but saw nothing. It is the Midwesterner in me - always ready to grab the kids and make a dash for the basement. Of course, tornadoes are rare here but not unheard of.

My bedroom door creaked open and in crept Edward. The wind had woken him and as he lay awake, the power had flickered, startling him when his bedside light went dark. I lay down with him on the futon for a while. He fell asleep and I dozed fitfully. I finally snuck out and crawled back into my bed next to Jules and Dex.

I woke again, startled and confused. The room was pitch black and I was completely unable to get my bearings. What room was I in? My mind sorted through places… was I in the guest room? Or a room I haven’t seen the inside of in many years? The dimensions and shadows took a familiar shape and I realized I was in my room and that the power had gone out. I sunk back into sleep.

Early this morning I spent an hour with Jules on the couch, drifting in and out of sleep while she played and watched Maisy, until Dex came downstairs with Davey and Mae and mercifully sent me back to bed.  

It was not an easy night, but those minutes standing at the window, watching the rain and wind, feeling the mild, wet air through the window fan, hearing the rising howl and the splatter of raindrops driven against the house, were delicious.