Hell Hath No Fury....

Than Mother Nature on a very bad day.

My thoughts and prayers are with the many families who lost so much last night. It has been reported that the death toll is up to 52 this morning with 28 killed in Tennessee, 13 in Arkansas, 4 in Alabama and 7 here in my home state of Kentucky.

I know what it feels like sitting with your little ones huddled in the closet under the stairs on a pitch black night, no power, husband away at the hospital, tornado sirens blaring, listening to the handheld radio sound out National Weather Service alerts for your exact area. The wind rattles your windows and whips your home. You begin to think you see the dreaded flashes of green through the glass and your kids cling to you and say a prayer. It is beyond terrifying. That is real fear.

The worst storm so far happened when Rich was a 3rd year medical student. It was a Sunday in the summer and I was with the boys at church. The sisters were in the chapel for Relief Society and during the lesson, the bishop came up to the pulpit and stood next to the teacher. In a calm voice, he stated that funnel clouds had been spotted in the area and that the primary children were being moved from their rooms into the cultural hall. In a very orderly fashion we left the chapel and as we headed toward the children, they decided that it would be safer for everyone to stand in the hallway incase the roof of the building was ripped off by the high winds. As families stood together in the hallway we soon lost power, the sirens sounded and the storm hit the building. It was wild and windy outside, and while there was fear all of us, we soon started singing primary songs to pass the time and I felt more at peace. There was a break in between storm systems so we raced home after people had given the all clear from reports from car radios.

As I drove I finally got to talk to Rich who was on call at University Hospital. He had been busy moving patients away from windows and into the middle of the building. Since he was up on the upper floors, he had a bird’s eye view of Louisville and watched as the dark menacing clouds moved toward the city and headed north following the river to where we lived. He was relieved to know we were safe.

I got the boys home, made dinner and we slept on the main floor next to the stairs knowing a more powerful storm was headed our way. Around 3 AM the sirens again sounded and the boys and I moved into our safe spot. Our dear sweet next door neighbors called us to make sure we had taken cover. We waited out the storm and finally it was over.

I have to be careful about telling Trey there is a tornado watch or warning in our area because he gets very worried about our safety after remembering these scary moments from when he was younger.

A year later I was over at a friends home for a baby shower and during the party the sirens went off and we all headed for her basement. When the storm passed I tried to navigate the streets to get home. My short 5 minute drive took over an hour as every major street had broken trees blocking the path. I finally went around a barrier and drove under a huge fallen tree ripping off Rich's car antenna in the process. When my car lights shone out from a dark empty street, I came to a fireman blocking the entry to where I had just come from. He was shocked I had driven through since there was a downed power line. I realized how foolish I had been, but grateful I was near home. The next day we drove around to survey the damage and saw far too many homes with trees crashed on their cars and roofs. We were the lucky ones.

Another time we lost power for 5 1/2 days. Luckily it was in the summer and our water heater was gas powered so we still had hot water for bathing. It really gave me an inside look at how prepared we were with our 72 hour kit and food storage. Living out of a cooler for a near week was not an easy feat. I ended up buying a small camping type stove that uses small propane tanks. Thank heavens Burger King and Wal-mart survied. We spent a great deal of time there during the blackout.

Luckily for us last night, we were spared the major force of the storm. We had a tornado watch all evening and now have flood watches in effect now because of the massive amount of rain we have received, but we are fine. The fierce winds and intense rain woke us up around 3 AM and the boys rushed into our room. After a quick check we thought we would be safe upstairs so we went back to bed. In hindsight, we should have played it safe and headed for the basement since I can not hear the sirens in our home. You simply just never know. What a blessing it is to finally have a safe area. A basement was one major requirement for our home when we moved. My poor parents just could not take any more late night phone calls from me as I waited out the storms with the kids.

Thanks to caring parents and friends who called and sent emails today. It nice to know someone was thinking of us. Those small acts of kindness mean so much.