Ever have a moment where you pass an accident and think "If only I had left 5 minutes earlier" or hear about a scary incident and think " What if I had decided to take the subway instead of that cab "? Moments where you realize how fragile life is and how you're constantly avoiding disaster without even knowing it? I had that experience last weekend.
The kids, hubby and I went up to my in-laws, right outside of Toledo, for my sister-in-law's high school graduation. We were extremely proud of her and happy to celebrate her accomplishments. Graduation day started off with a few bumps, and a glimpse in to what having an emotional teen aged girl is going to be like. We made it out the door with zero minutes to spare and raced to the ceremony. We took our seats, listened to speeches and cheered as KB walked across the stage. Very cool. I've only known KB for a little over 7 years, but I felt like a proud mama watching her hit this milestone. After the ceremony we headed home. I stayed there with IA as she took a much needed nap and the rest of the family went out for a celebratory lunch. Later that day WA and I headed to a local Butterfly House and we had a blast checking out some amazingly beautiful creatures. WA freaked out when the butterflies tried to land on him, and I can't blame him considering they were the size of a very large man's hand. We took a break and went back in, me hoofing him around the whole time, and he was much calmer. I'd recommend a trip to a Butterfly house if you can find one…they are just pure happiness. WA and I then went back to my in-laws. My in-laws offered to watch the kids so the hubby and I could go to the movies. Well, they didn't have to ask ME twice! We bolted out the door and ended up seeing "Get Him to the Greek", a light, entertaining comedy. After the movie we headed back to the in-laws. We arrived home to find both kids sleeping and the rest of the family watching TV. I hung out for a little bit and headed to bed at roughly 10pm. At that point it was raining, but fairly calm out. About an hour and a half later my hubby came crashing in to the room yelling "Get IA, there's a tornado!". HOLY CRAP! WHAT?!? Not exactly the most calming way to awake from a deep sleep. I went to the living room to see what was going on. T he news was on, the sirens were going off, my husband and father-in-law were checking outside and my mother-in-law and sister-in-law were looking fraught. The doppler showed that there were at least three tornados either spotted in the air or ones that had touched down, all within a handful of miles from us. I calmly went to retrieve IA and WA and headed to an interior bathroom. What made this situation even more scary is that my in-laws have no basement. Yup….tornado + no basement = not so comforting. I ended up huddled in the bathtub with both kids as the rest of the family either monitored the skies (in hindsight maybe not the smartest thing) or collected flashlights. We stayed in the tub for maybe 20 mins and got an "all clear" shortly thereafter. I definitely did not realize, until later, just how serious the situation was. The next day we learned that a horse barn down the road was destroyed (and the horse's freed), that 5 people were killed just 10miles down the road, and that several local homes and municipal building were destroyed or damaged. To think that only 10 miles came between us and a not-so-great outcome. That's not a lot of distance. I'm SO thankful we are all ok and that ignorance is truly bliss….otherwise I would have been FAR more freaked out. I think next time I will be. NA, you're not in CT anymore.
No comments:
Post a Comment