Pages

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Scared, but Thankful

On Tuesday evening we ended up in the path of a tornado.....but we weren't at home. Davis had his kindergarten program at 6:30, so he had to be at the school around 6. While in route, we saw the dark sky up ahead and the sirens were going off.....but we were in the sunny area, so we weren't worried. When we arrived at the school, we were all to be in the middle hall because there was some bad weather on the way...still not that worried.

The tornado warning was cancelled and we were told that the adults could go to the cafeteria were the program would be, but the children were to remain in the hall. The kindergartners sat on their bottoms facing the wall without a single complaint.

Once we got settled in the cafeteria, the principal came in and told us that the warning had been reissued but as adults we could decide if we wanted to stay. I decided that I would take Hannah and Matt to the hall and I left Pete and my mom in the cafeteria.

Maybe 5 minutes later, Pete and Mom join us as they were told that there had been a tornado spotted and it was headed straight to the school. The teachers got the kids on their knees and we did the same....children against the wall and adults behind them. The PA came on and the principal told us to "take cover immediately"....the lights flickered, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees, a breeze blew through the hall. I was terrified, I am not even sure I was thinking anything. We heard the roar as the storm passed over us....it was surreal.

The amazing part was that the kindergartners remained in the duck and cover position for at least 20 minutes....without tears or screams or complaints. This picture is at least 5 minutes after the storm passed over.

The teachers and principals were AMAZING....they took care of our kids like they were their own.

They were able to complete the program and we were sent on our way. Street closing were reported to us and we went home the back way. We found out later that less than a mile away from the school was one of the hardest hit areas.

We were all OKAY....safe....and together.

Then I got worried, our house is not far from the school and in the path that the storm was traveling. When I finally got through to a neighbor, she said "we have a mess"....my heart was in my stomach. My neighbor went out and looked at our house and we were told that it appeared as though everything was okay. My neighborhood was spared any major damage....just lots of downed trees (none in our yard) with most of them falling away from the houses.

We WERE lucky and we ARE thankful!!!

This is all we ended up with....



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness! I'm so glad that you are all safe and sound. We've all been so lucky this year that sometimes I step back and feel guilty since so many have lost everything.