8/27/09

Thankfully, tonight has been a more peaceful night

We had a terrifying storm last night. Lightning that resembled a strobe light outside our window, pounding hail, crazy noises from the wind, electricity flickering on and off. We all curled up in the guest bed that's in Charlie's room and I sang and talked until the kids felt safe enough to sleep. I'm a tummy sleeper and Charlie would only lay down between my legs, using my butt as a pillow, so now my back hurts!

About 3:30, Melody woke me up, saying she had a bad dream and asking to go to my room to snuggle. We go in there and she tells me that she dreamt she did something bad and her punishment was that she lost her name. It was deeply upsetting to her--poor baby girl just thinks too much sometimes. So I reminded her that I know what her name is and that she does and that, most importantly, God knows which name he will call her by when He says her name to summon her to heaven someday. I sang her the songs with her name in them that we sang to her as a baby and held her til she went back to sleep.

We woke up this morning to grumpy girls who did not want to go to school. My back aching and Dowlan dragging them through the morning routine, about to get them out the door, only to look over and find all the fish dead. Ugh. Apparently, Charlie dumped a ton of fish food in yesterday. Dowlan scooped most of the food out, but with the power out and the filter not running for so much of the night, I think the water simply didn't get clean fast enough.

Dowlan consoled them by telling them that they would only be getting up and going to school everyday for the next sixteen years or so. After they were off to school, we gave the fish a burial at sea and Charlie went around all morning talking about how the fish are dead, fish go in the potty, and, charmingly, that we pee-pee on the fish.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had never thought of using the 'Burial at sea' term; how delightfully respectful that seems!


Love ~ ~ Papa

Sally said...

You start with the heart break and end with the chuckle. I love the way you write. Thanks!

Mrs. Joyce said...

It was a dark and stormy night...ending with burial at sea, but we all get to keep our good name, which is better to be chosen than riches. Whew!

~Gretchen~ said...

im cackling at your summary.

unfortunately, about midnight another storm rolled up. dowlan and i were just about asleep when we had to hop up and unplug everything, then we couldnt get back to sleep. but the kids never noticed.

when i went outside to make sure the gate was shut, the wind whipped the screen door out of my hands and the lightning on the horizon was green.

Ksagstetter said...

I miss those types of storms. There are storms, but in general weather here is comparatively...tame. Even the bad storms tend to be snow storms and are pretty much silent.