Wednesday, August 09, 2006

THE lightning strike



The lightning struck only 50 feet away from where we were standing. Lauren (3) and I had just made it down the stairs and we were walking in front of the only open window in the entire cabin. The noise and the light came at the same time and I was frozen in my steps. Never in my 40 years have I heard such a crack. I was completely terrified. Poor little Lauren could feel MY heart racing against her closely pressed chest. We retreated to the downstairs bedroom to compose ourselves for a few minutes and pray that this would please.just.stop!! When I could move again we ran back upstairs, passing the horrible open window, to be with the other 5 kids and I made James help me gather pillows and blankets so I could join the 6 kids upstairs for the rest of the night. The lightning struck a tree only 50 feet away for our cabin in our neighbor's yard.

It pleases Janice to no end that on that trip (4 days) I got almost no sleep. The thunderstorms came precisely at nap time and at 2 in the morning. I was TOAST by the end of it all. Two of my little girls become Cling On's during T-storms so I had constant companions :)



The lightning struck at the tip top of the tree but here in these two pictures you see the lower parts of the tree and where it went in to the ground.

11 comments:

Janet said...

PS. The dvd player (near the tv and the the open window) was also toast. The lightning zapped it. It was right next to my leg. Fun times.

Anonymous said...

I know you were all a bit scared at the thunder but WOW look at that tree!

Kim said...

Janet, I'm so glad you and your children are okay! Yipes!

Dana in Georgia said...

Wow!! That's amazing...and scary!
Glad y'all are safe.
Dana in GA

Dana in Georgia said...

Wow!! That's amazing...and scary!
Glad y'all are safe.
Dana in GA

Anonymous said...

hey, "to no end" is a little much, i just knew your sisters who had so much trouble getting you to sleep as a child would enjoy the story,
that tree does look prety cool !!!
I am very glad you are all safe !!!

I wish I could have gone to MO, also :(

Dy said...

WOW! I'm sorry you didn't get much rest. That is an amazing picture, though.

We had a whopper of a thunderstorm last night and it woke Smidge. He sat bolt upright and whispered, "Mama, did you see that?" I tried to tell him it was beautiful and pretty, but he said, "NO! It's BIG!" Wanna sleep in my bed? He was out the door and halfway down the hall before I could finish my offer. I don't think thunderstorms are among his favorite things...

Dy

Donna Boucher said...

Just think...folks get hit by lightning...and live!
Wow!

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's freaky. Right now here an hour from London, England, it's
a) sunny (coming from the front of the house)
b) dark clouds in the sky behind the house
c) just had a huge thunderclap after a bright flash (but not at the same time like you!)

Earlier today it was raining hard, sunny, windy, and cloudy at various times. It's quite changeable around here!

Glad you are all okay (apart from the poor DVD player - I just told my son to unplug his computer, as my laptop is).

Janet said...

Hi Katherine! Thank you for the comment. Are you new to my blog? I love England and hope to travel there with my husband some day.

Anonymous said...

Oh My Stars!! Did your hair stand up on your enitre body...did you feel kinda zingy??

Ahhh, Janice yes, what goes around comes around. To this day I never can figure why you two did not jump into each others beds when you were scared. Guess what? We were glad to do it!! :)