We got some unexpected time off today.
Most of the South is under a weather siege, and, they closed schools. So far, there's not been much to see here, but, I don't fault anyone for letting schools out.
It was supposed to get bad right about the time school normally would have let out, so, I commend them for trying to prevent the scenario where everyone was on the road home when the storm hit.
I am especially relieved, because I have been a bit squirrelly around tornadoes since 1998.
You may have read my account elsewhere, but, April 16, 1998 still sticks in my mind, but, for good reason.
I worked at a hospital, and, I remember driving in that day thinking to myself, "I've never seen the sky like this before, but, whatever."
That afternoon, the buzz was about tornadoes in the area, so, we went through the usual motions that are done in safety drills.
I didn't really think anything unusual was going on until the overhead announcements started saying things like, "Alert for tornado, take cover immediately, now."
So, I did what any normal person would do and went outside. I saw the tornado over my children's daycare center.
Let me repeat that. I saw the tornado at the building where my young children were. Knowing that I would be fired (not cool to leave during things like this at a hospital), I went to go get the car, and, it wouldn't start.
Panic ensued, and, I couldn't reach Busy Dad who was locked down at his work, but, he was eventually able to go get them. I was very relieved, but, confused when he showed up at my work with them, and, then wasn't able to leave, because the hospital wasn't letting people out.
He spent the next 5 hours in my office with 2 small kids, stressful, but, I was secretly glad they were there because the bad weather just kept coming.
Over those few hours, the teamwork I witnessed was extraordinary. My job was such that I was involved with the logistics of what do do with staff, patients and visitors, as well as prepare for patient admissions as a result of the storms.
The daycare kids were fine (Busy Girl can still remember the teachers lying in the halls on top of them and the doors were flying open and shut), but, we had to transport all of them from the center to the hospital and arrange care for them so their parents (hospital employees) could continue to work.
A few days later, a group from work went to help clean up the damaged areas.
I have never seen anything like what I saw there. The damage was just mind-boggling. Not that I've ever been in a war, but, I know now why people say it "looks like a war zone".
[cheese]The volunteer spirit was nearly overwhelming. Strangers comforting grieving homeowners, church groups there with mobile kitchens to feed the hundreds of volunteers, neighbors helping neighbors put their homes and their lives back together.
It was nearly impossible to choose where to begin, but, I hope we did some good that day.[/cheese]
So, you see, I haven't been the same since, and, most any storm with wind sets me off, but, I'm determined not to pass this on to my kids. I just make them think everyone keeps The Weather Channel (MTV for old people) on all night.
OK, so, it may or may not have anything to do with Jim Cantore, too.
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Mmmm....Jim Cantore. My mom and I are fans as well. Makes storm watching just a little more interesting.
I totally understand your sentiment about this. I remember when we were kids and some pretty bad tornados hit this place...when the sky goes into that ugly green and then purple...not good.
I hope you all are safe.
Hello.
I found your blog when I did a google search for "mom blogs." I am a reporter for Columbia News Service, a syndicate put out by the New York Times wire service to about 400 papers in the U.S. and Canada. I am writing a story about mothers who are considering whether or not they should have their daughters vaccinated for the HPV virus. I was wondering if you would be willing to talk with me about this. If so, please contact me at eac2145@columbia.edu.
Thank you,
Ibby Caputo
I hate tornado season. I'm edgy all spring, because MAYBE there MIGHT be a tornado. Possibly. And then eventually I hear the sirens go off, and my heart stops and THEN I have to get the kids into the bathroom and find shoes and . . .
Phew. I'll stop now. Sorry.
I hate tornado season.
I hear ya, sistah. Being in Tejas, we see our fair share of bad weather and tornadoes, and I've been through two of them directly. Both times were eons ago - I was very young and then young but thought I was old(er), and every time you see that sky turn that sickly green, you just aren't ever the same.
I just stumbled upon your blog today. Ironically, our tornado siren went off today for the first time this year, signaling the start of tornado season here in the Midwest. Nothing major happened, just some marble sized hail and a huge downpour that helped to melt down the 4 foot mounds of snow that Mother Nature left us last week. Having experienced a couple twisters up close and a little too personal and being a mom, I totally get the whole weather channel bit. Thanks for sharing.
Our sirens went off at 3:30 this morning....By the time we were awake enough to know what to do, it had passed us by. Thank Goodness. One time, when it didn't pass by harmlessly, we witnessed what you describe. I remember the pink cottony insultation stuck on everything...cars, light poles, it was everywhere but inside the homes where it was supposed to be, because the houses were gone. Stay safe. Sue
I also hate twisters as a direct result of being in the path of several while growing up. The one that is most vivid is when I was 4 or 5 and we had considerable damage including a tree that went through the camper that I had played in only a couple of hours earlier and also when I was in 8th grade and a tornado went over the school where we were having a track meet - nothing lack mass hysteria with a bunch of 12/13 yr old girls.
I can safely say that on nights when the weather is bad, I don't sleep because my biggest fear is not being able to get my kids to a safe place and I KNOW how quickly they can can appear.
I was downtown in 1998 too. WAY unnerving. Now we can get a watch and I go pad up the laundry room with quilts and pillows and stock it with bottled water or capri sun, snacks for the kids and my cell phone. I did good yesterday because my husband was home from work and I resisted the urge, because I knew he would laugh at me. I kept the weather channel on all day though!
I get all wiggy too during storms. My husband teases me about putting my shoes and clothes on and gathering all my stuff (jewelry/money/id) but hey, I'll be the one fully clothed standing out in the middle of the cove while the rest of the neighborhood is in their nightgown and barefooted. And I'm not sharing any of my money or water either!!
My children's school let out (or should I say evacuated) at 1:00. It was a total mess, I was sitting in line waiting to pick them up and nothing was happening, some of the parents were just getting out of their cars and running in to get their kids. About this time the weather guy on the radio says that we are under warning again, and that the area I was in was not the place to be. He said he was afraid for parents out in their cars picking up children....Then the sirens go off, and still nothing is moving in the line. I jumped out of my car, moved the orange traffic cones that had me pinned in the line like tornado bait, parked and ran in the school. The staff was standing around like a bunch of scared and confused children. They had sent the kids back to the classrooms. I tried to explain that there were about 30 cars full of Mom's and young kids out in line waiting, and that someone should let them know what was up, perhaps get them all inside. Heck, I volunteered to do it....the staff had no idea what to do. Then the phone rings and the secretary starts yelling at the staff to "release the kids." Can you say Chinese Fire Drill?!? I grabbed my 3 and shagged home.
Did I mention that I live in South Alabama? The storm that set off the sirens is the storm that produced the tornado that devestated the city of Enterprise.