Rolling through

I was sitting on my back porch the night before last.  It was dark of course, but the reason I was on the porch was to watch a storm as it rolled through the area.  It was late, about 11:30, cool, in the 60s, and the storms were coming in about 3 hours earlier than the predicted 3 A.M.  It had begun to rain some, though not heavily.

The skies weren't pitch black like normal.  Lightning bursts lit up the sky about every 2 seconds. The lightning didn't streak, but flashed brilliantly in the clouds.  I usually see these type of flashes above the clouds and in the distance, but not this night.  It was up close and personal.  About every 2 minutes or so, thunder rumbled deeply not far away.  I was mesmerized and sat, just watching and listening to the wind, rain, thunder, lightning and water flowing  in a nearby creek.

I didn't time how long I sat there, but it seemed like it was around 15 minutes. I was wearing a t-shirt, so the cool air finally got to me and I went back inside.  It was so refreshing.  I don't always have the time to enjoy a storm as it happens.  I get out in one if I am driving somewhere, or I catch snapshots of one if I look intermittently out a window, but to enjoy the show as one rolls across my area, is invigorating.  It restores the environment.  

Symbolically, it restores hope that all is well with the world... at least for the 15 minutes I enjoyed it... and helps me walk back in the house with the idea that I will sleep deeply for the night. And I can't help but think of some of my memories that are flashes of refreshment whenever they come to mind...  Snapshots of what has been and anticipation of what is to hopefully come.

I was asleep when the storm finally left the area, peacefully, awaiting the brightness of the morning.