Stormy Day

A pleasant Thursday evening was followed by a stormy Friday.

We slept late this morning and awoke to dark skies. Turned the TV on to see what was up. The weathermen, who had apparently been reporting for an hour or so before we got up, were issuing warnings about possible tornadoes across the state. Our county was listed as one of the warning areas, though we had plenty of time to prepare.



We hurried through breakfast, got dressed, and gathered stuff into the kitchen pantry...the only place we deem safe enough for a shelter, since it's the most central room of the house, away from windows and doors.



Hubbie put a folding chair in there for Mother, and I gathered pillows to put over our heads. I also gathered my purse, my medications, my digital camera, my small jewelry box that contains sentimental items given to me by Hubbie, and three photo albums...one of black and white, irreplaceable photos of Hubbie's family, one of childhood photos of my kids for which there are no negatives, and two family scrapbook albums that Mother and I have so diligently put together. Hubbie grabbed his briefcase containing important household information, his cell phone, a tote of Shih Tzu's necessary items, and an extra flashlight. There is a combination flashlight/battery-operated radio already in the pantry.



We were as ready as we could be. Fortunately, though, we didn't need to use the shelter, since the storms passed to the east of us. But all day long weather warnings continued, with devestating tornadoes ripping through the state, leaving death and destruction in their wake. To their credit, meteorologists stayed on the air for eight straight hours, tracking the storms as they followed an easterly path across the state. Once there were no more warnings for our area, we went about our usual business, keeping an ear on the reports for other parts of the state. Our hearts sank each time we heard about a tornado touchdown and the horror it left behind. TV news reports of the aftermath are stunning.

We are still in the middle of tornado season, so there will no doubt be many more scares in the weeks to come.