Follow-up on last night's drama: We do have some damage to one side of the house (siding), and we're not completely sure yet about our roof. The cars are pretty bad. Our poor insurance man here in town is probably wishing he could call in sick tomorrow. I bet his phone will be ringing all day. Overall, we are extremely blessed.
A portion of the view from my van's passenger window. These cracks were all happening while we were driving. It sounded unbelievable. I was sure the windshield was going to shatter completely...
And Alex's windshield- this was done by ONE hailstone, the one he was holding in last night's picture...
Truthfully, I couldn't care less. It's just stuff. The 7 treasures that mean the most to me (8, if you count my stupid dog) are all here, safe and sound to celebrate Mother's Day with me. I couldn't ask for more. That sounds so cheesy, but it's the truth. I'm a very thankful Mama today!
I just can't convey in words how dangerous the situation really was in the van without sounding like a drama queen. But it was. We can't believe it even really happened. Here is a link to an article on the tornado, if you're interested:
Deadly Storms Batter Missouri, Oklahoma (CNN.com)
I'm honestly not trying to be a drama queen, but last night I did think we could all die. I think we all thought that. I am so, so proud of all my kids and Darrell for the way they handled such a frightening ordeal. Evan and Mike stayed pretty calm, and were trying to help me comfort Tucker and Bri. After the storm passed, Mike said he thought the whole thing was kind of exhilarating, and he now wants to be one of those insane storm-chasing people. I've always suspected something was wrong with him. Now we know for sure. lol. I could do with less exhilarating. Me and the exhilarating aren't so good together!
Liv was amazing and so brave, as I mentioned last night. She had her moment to fall apart after we were safe in that kind stranger's basement. I looked over at her and saw the tears starting, and the bottom lip sticking out. She needed some major hugs from Mama.
Darrell joked that Tuck was apparently the only one in the car who really understood the seriousness of the situation at the time, and was acting accordingly. He was screaming like someone right out of a movie, and his reaction matched exactly how Darrell and I were feeling on the inside, I think! Darrell told Tucker not to feel embarrassed for being so afraid- it just proved he had common sense!
Darrell did a great job of staying calm and focused, as dads so often do. He said he was so proud of the way I handled it, and that I also did a great job, but it sure didn't feel that way to me at the time! Between the shaking, the pathetic prayers of "Please, God!" and the urge to vomit and/or pee my pants, I didn't feel very brave.
Once it all really started to sink in after we got home, got settled, and felt safe, I lost it a little bit. I'd be fine for a while, then I'd cry for a while. A mix of stress tears and grateful tears. I feel so terrible for all the families around us with damages that are far worse, and for those who were injured or have family members who were killed. Some friends of the boys were in Kansas City while all this happened and they are hearing from neighbors that they don't have a home to come back to. They live in a town right next to us, which was hit pretty hard. The number of deaths and injuries is going up. Again, please remember to keep the people in our area in your prayers.
I'll end with a shot of my cutie pie girlies from their first softball game yesterday. They only got to play one inning, but they did an awesome job! The game was called due to rain. We had left the game to go grab dinner at a drive-thru when the tornado hit. Let's hope the next game night is a little less "exhilarating!"
3 comments:
Happy Mother's Day to you!
Happy Mothers' Day! So glad your family is okay.
That scared me just reading about your experience. I've lived through many tornados, but always safely in the basement. I'm so glad you are all okay.
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