I love lightning storms. I was awake to catch the one this morning. It was beautifully powerful. I had been reading in bed with my feet propped up against the wall when I first felt some of the thunder rumbling outside through the wall. After a few more low rumbles, I crawled out of bed to open the blinds and turn off the light. I knew I should've just kept reading, but it was worth it.

The storm started off slowly but of course grew and gained momentum until huge drops of rain were pelting my bay window, distorting the bolts of lightning that raced across the dark backdrop of sky outside. Every ten seconds the lightning would illuminate my whole room, cracking and streaking across the sky, a prologue to the clap of thunder to follow; it wasn't long before the lightning was continuous and the thunder simply rolling. A few of those thunderous roars were angry enough to rattle my window panes. One of them woke my brother nextdoor; I heard him crawl out of bed and open his own blinds to watch. I myself lay curled in bed, mesmerized by the spectacle of nature outside my room. I was sad when I realized the seconds between the lightning's strikes and the thunder's growls were growing longer. Soon the lightning dimmed to a mere flicker while the thunder diminished to a mere purr. That's when I got out of bed to come here and tell you about it...

I've always loved lightning storms. My dad used to hold me in his lap when I was young, and watch them through the open blinds with me so I wouldn't be afraid. He told me exactly what was happening up there in the sky--why we had lightning and thunder, and how to tell if the storm was getting closer or going away. Ever since then, I'd never been afraid of the storms and instead would get excited when the sky would begin to come alive with light. My dad didn't have to search me out to hold me anymore, I would go and find him to come sit with me by the window to watch. Even now I still sometimes search out my dad to sit and watch by the window--it's so beautiful that I always want to be sharing it with someone. Tonight I wish I hadn't been the only one awake.