childhood fears

so... i'm 25 now. i'm at that age where childhood fears are the thing of the past... right? i've overcome the fear of the dark, the fear of whats under my bed. even the fear of the boogieman.

i've overcome them all. except one. and that one certainly took me by surprise.

right now, its the rainy season in florida. thunderstorms are a plenty. some have been light and fluffy, while others have threatened to tear the roof right off the house. last night, the skies were clear--not a cloud in sight. it was quite beautiful actually. i went to bed without a care in the world and slept peacefully until about.... eh, 3am-ish when BAM! this crack of lightening lit up the sky so brightly that it woke me up instantly. [now i'm a pretty deep sleeper. i'm used to falling asleep with music or the tv on, so a light noise won't stir me in the least.] but this... this was so bright, i sat straight up in my bed. and then another BAM! thunder. i FREAKED out. MORE BAMS! it almost sounded like the raid of berlin during wwii. i hadn't experienced that kind of heart stammering fear in... well ages! when i used to be afraid of thunder. i pulled the covers over my head and willed myself to sleep, hoping i could dream away the terror. no such luck. there i was, a grown adult, and i was terrified of a stupid thunderstorm. [(whispering) ...i even considered crawling into bed with my sister who sleeps on the other side of the house but i was too SCARED to get out of bed and RUN to her!] i stuck my head under all six of my pillows and eventually fell asleep. but not before saying a quick prayer. =)

i laugh at it all now. sure NOW. not during the stupid storm. never have i felt so ridiculous. (shaking head) when will i be old enough to say "i'm not afraid of thunderstorms".

...maybe next year. =)