Rain, Thunder Go Away, Come Again Another...DAY!

So last night marks the fourth (or fifth; I can't think straight anymore because I am so sleep deprived) night this week that we were lulled to/rocked out of bed.

If you live in Chicago, you know what I'm talking about.

Last night was probably the worst of the week. While the hubby was out at a birthday dinner for his good friend, I settled in to get a much needed night's sleep after all the lightning storms, thunder and downpours we've had almost every single night this week like clockwork around bedtime.

My stomach sank as soon as I started hearing raindrops on my window sill, but chalked it off to 'just rain' since we already had a Wizard of Oz episode earlier that morning - complete with rolling black clouds, winds and the Niagara Falls of downpours, coming down so fast and furious, I thought my windshield wipers were going to helicopter right off my car.

I forced myself to try and sleep, and RIGHT when I was starting to doze, it happened yet again. A clap of thunder so loud, it reverberated in my chest and forced my eyes to pop open like a champagne cork. I braced myself for the pitter-patter of feet from the girls' room, but nothing. So I grabbed my eye mask to shield my eyes from the lighting show that turned night into day. Two minutes later, a clap of thunder, even louder than the first, struck yet again. Now my nerves were jangled. 'Turn over and try to sleep' I told myself. But no use. I tossed and turned. About 10 minutes later, I felt the power go off. A minute after that, I heard something drag across the lawn outside by the wind, perhaps a chair or something.

I got up and grabbed a flashlight. Checked things outside, checked on the girls, checked for signs that the hubby might be coming home, searched the medicine cabinet for the Nyquil and down half a dose. I knew I was not going to get any sleep tonight AGAIN, otherwise.

Once in bed again, my eyes blinked wide open when I heard..."Beep"...30 seconds later..."Beep"...thirty seconds later..."Beep." I mumbled, 'You gotta be kidding me' as I whipped the quilt off me and got up. I pressed some numbers on our alarm key pad and waited. Silence. Ahhhh... I settled back in, eye mask in place and waited for the Nyquil to work its magic. Amazingly, the kids were sound asleep. I was so jealous.

While in bed, a mere two minutes later, I heard, "Drip...drip...drip...drip." My stomach sank for a second time that night. 'Oh no. Not the living room again.' So I grabbed my flashlight and set out to investigate. It was coming from our furnace room - you know, the one we keep open to mooch the A/C off the upstairs and downstairs units? I looked inside and I didn't SEE any water, just heard it. It sounded like it was dripping inside a pipe. 'As long as it's not dripping outside the pipe,' I said to my weary self, 'we're good.' So I tightly closed those doors (we had no power anyway, so no use in keeping them open) and half-stumbled back to the bedroom.

We may not have had power, but at this point, lying in bed, I could feel electricity running through my body; a combination of rattled nerves, lack of sleep and the effects of the Nyquil working its magic. Slowly...slowly...I felt my body succumbing to the magic sleeping potion and a smile crossed my face. Somewhere in the faint distance, I heard a door unlock and knew that the hubby had come home. But I was finally heading towards the land of nod. I only felt him climb into bed, feeling his way in because it was so dark, patting my butt because it was in his way, me scooching over to give him room, and I woke up at almost NOON the next morning.

Finally...a blissful night of sleep. So please dear rain, deafening claps of thunder, incessant lightning shows, please, if you want to visit us again, do it during the day when we are up. I can't take another night of this. Thank you.

-Cathy