Everything is so magnified and dramatic when you are tired, half asleep and the sun is not out, isn’t it? I am convinced this is when Stephen King gets his best material for a new book.
Well, I had one of those mornings this morning.
It all started last night as we were getting ready for bed. Our ‘letting the dogs out one last time’ routine was the catalyst.
Our neighbors are apparently not home. Their house was dark except for the flood light on the side of their home. As I was trying to get B into the house <he was barking at something outside> I listened and I really thought I heard what sounded like someone walking on rocks back there. But, it was so far back in our yard (or their’s) and so dark, I couldn’t see anything. Nervous, I got the dogs in, locked up and closed the curtains, figuring that if I can’t see it or hear it, it isn’t there?… yeah, apparently I wasn’t convinced of that either.
Around 3:33 AM, B started barking <very unusual in the middle of the night>. My adrenaline started pumping and the monsters sprung into action.
I quieted B down and I checked on the kids. I sat there on the bed — K is already snoring, but I’m wide AWAKE!
I couldn’t hear well enough so I got up and turned the ceiling fan the humidifier off. As I lay there, I heard some noises outside. Was that someone walking out there? STILL? It’s been like FIVE HOURS!!!
Then our wind chimes (actually they are more like wind bells… see photo) in our trees, which normally produce a nice random chime now and again seemed to be GONGING regularly. A rhythm? Was someone in our yard trying to get our attention by this?
What did they want? <Just go away, I want to sleep>.
I looked out the window and of course couldn’t see a thing, but I continued to peer out carefully so “they” couldn’t see me. The wind wasn’t blowing and as I looked out the window the gonging stopped.
I hopped into bed and I made a HUGE mistake by waking my snoring K up to share this elaborate scenerio with him.
He politely stared into space with me for while, while we quietly listened….
….our collective assessment of the situation was that it was a little gusty out there and that for the sake of regaining control of the situation <getting more sleep> it was just God having a little fun with some wind, our chimes and our thoughts.
Go away you little Three AM Monster!!!
When I got up this morning, I almost forgot about that pesky Three AM Monster. That was until my dear hubby called me into another room. He was very subtle when he asked me to go in the front room, away from the kids, as if to tell me something important.
Without bustin’ up at all, he said:
“Hey… come here. I actually heard the chimes doing that rhythm as well, but I didn’t want to alarm you last night. But… when I came downstairs this morning, I looked outside and saw a guy in a dark hooded robe, with a scythe in one hand and the other hand just banging away on our wind bell.”
