You know how the people in prison mark off the days by scratching a line in the wall? Oh really? You've never been to prison? :)
I feel like last night was the first in what will probably be many marks on the wall. I'm not marking off days...I'm marking off storms. Last night dissolved into mayhem for us. As I'm sure it did for you. Only in our case, three of the kids huddled around a video game. One sat clinging to his beloved "Wolfie" (the replacement one) crying and asking if we were going to die. As any good mother, I sat on the floor with him crying and asking if we were going to die. Es, sensing our anxiety, just sat quietly on my lap. And Hubby went around grabbing shoes, food, water bottles, flashlights, and turning off gas and water to the house. See how we roll in an emergency? I'm Henny Penny. And Hubby is Superman!
Obviously, if you watched channel 4, you know that we averted a major disaster. Their coverage, while riveting, was ridiculous. The radar looked like a meteor was headed for us and our town was at the epicenter. In fact, they actually said, epicenter. And two minutes out, the lion turned into a kitten and we were all spared. Folks to the northwest of us were not so lucky. I have prayed for them and their physical and emotional health today.
So, today dawned much colder and less anxiety-ridden than yesterday. It was business as usual. Make breakfast, make lunches, send kids to school, bathe Es, dr. appointment, bills to pay, rocks to spraypaint gold, dog to find, dog to bathe, dog to
And I am left processing my reaction to yesterday. Maybe I really do need to get some counseling. Or maybe I need some drugs for stormy days. Or maybe I should stay away from social media when it rains. I don't know. :( All I know is this. I am grateful for you, my friends. I am thankful for the prayers, hugs, and love. I am especially thankful for the laughs...intentional and otherwise. I promise not to mention names. But, an especially funny thing happened while we were in the basement waiting for armageddon to hit. A young man that I serve with at church sent a very sweet text of encouragement. He has shown his thoughtfulness on more than one occasion as far as my family is concerned. But, in his text, he was writing about the awesomeness of God. He declared that God is so powerful. And the next line said, "God is a BREAST!" Immediately, I got another text that said, "a beast...God is a BEAST!" stupid autocorrect! But, it was too late for my twisted humor. God is a breast. Yep....Those are the words that kept my feet on the ground last night.
And for the record...no disrespect intended for God. He is precious to me. And He is the one that holds me together when the world falls apart. But, I like to believe that since He gave me a sense of humor, he would want me to use it in the middle of my storm.
Love you all!
That autocorrect is hilarious! I was thinking about your family last night as we were huddled in the basement and discussing exactly WHICH room down there would be the safest. Hubby and I were in disagreement, and I was running through the scenarios how I could grab all the kids and take with me while he went his own (more dangerous I thought) way. (Crazy, I know!) If you think this is adversely affecting your life,and you are unable to work through it on your own, there is nothing wrong with counseling! My childhood home lost a roof in a tornado...it's made me think a little differently (weird, some would say) about the fact that these things actually can happen to YOU. Not just some strangers in another town. Our personal experiences shape who we are and how we react to our environment...and you had a very frightening personal experience! Time doesn't heal all wounds...but I do think it helps the emotion based side of our thoughts get a little more in sync with the reality if that makes sense. At least in my perspective. Thinking about you!!
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