The huge dark cloud rolling in?
Wonderful.
The wind picking up?
Delightful.
Hail? Lightening? Thunder?
YES please!
As a child it was common to make my family sit through my weather girl "forecasts." I used to take an empty toilet paper roll and rig it to "measure" wind speeds (cut a slit, tape a straw sticking out with a flag, add some measurements and voila!) My magnadoodle became a radar or forecast illustration. I was the kid with the mom on the front porch screaming for her kid to "get in the house NOW!!!!" because a storm was rolling in.
My dreams have forever been invaded by tornadoes. It seems several times a week I wake up exhausted in the morning because all night long I was soley responsible for getting a group of imaginary people into the lowest safest place before a massive tornado hit. In each dream, just as I get the group into what appears to be the lowest level of the dwelling it either suddenly morphs into a room made entirely of glass on the 139th floor of a skyscraper- OR- I discover a trap door in the floor that leads to another universe where we're once again on the surface of a structure that has no basement, with a F5 tornado frightfully close and we have to start searching again. (this is why I have dark circles under my eyes)
For a long time I wanted to be a meteorologist. But the college I went to didn't offer that as a major.
So naturally, I chose the next closest thing...
Dental Hygiene.
:o)
Ok maybe they're not all that similar.
But I love my career even though in the corner of my heart I love the weather more.
Fast forward to March 2nd, 2012. I was well aware of the potential danger for about a week leading to that Friday. I had been reading about how the atmosphere was creating PERFECT conditions for a big event that day. :::meteorologist voice:::: A area of low pressure will be moving northeast, behind this front temperatures are unusually warm for this time of year blah blah blah blah.
We were under a high risk for severe weather. Those are rare and only issued once or twice per year.
Basically? I was pretty excited.
The TOR CON rating was up to a 9 in some areas near us. A 9. NIIIIINNNEEEE!!! That means 90% chance of tornadoes. YIKES and YIPPEE!
Now- in the past I have not done a good job containing this restless anticipation and it has resulted in a pretty freaked out 3 year old. So this time I didn't even let Nathan know what was going on- I was trying to calmy roam the house and pack our emergency bag but my mind wouldn't focus. Every 2 minutes I wanted to check the weather.
Although I was a mix of excitement, anticipation and concern, I eventually got the bag packed, dressed everyone in red (yanno- just in case- easier to see), and we headed over to my aunt's house since she has a basement and we don't (our next house will definitely have one!)
As soon as we got there, already under a tornado warning, I took both boys to the basement.
Luke starts to have a "hey mom- give me milk NOW" freak out but I refused to get him out of the infant carrier since I knew if anything happened he would be safer in there. So while I'm rocking him, shhhing him and trying to will him to believe I wasn't being mean on purpose- Marcus comes downstairs.
I will never forget the look on his face. His eyes were the biggest I had ever seen them.
He said "We got one on the ground"
It took me awhile to register what he said. One on the ground? "One" what? A tornado? No way...
My face went pale. I eventually muttered "Are you serious?"
He continued to say he saw one northwest of here, maybe a few miles away and it was HUGE.
I suddenly was so flooded with emotions that I felt like I was on the verge of a Kristen Bell Sloth Freakout Episode.
I felt pulled in many directions.
I wanted to run upstairs and see it for myself. I've ALWAYS wanted to see one. I've dreamed about it my whole life!
I wanted to think Marcus was kidding- of course there wasn't a deadly tornado near us.
And I wanted to protect my family- these two little lives entrusted to me.
It didn't take long for the parental protection instinct to kick in. I quickly took the boys underneath the stairs in the basement. While Luke was still screaming his poor little heart out I shoved myself under the stairs with them and took a sleeping bag my aunt handed me and covered all of us.
And waited.
And prayed.
Nathan said "Mommy, I'm scared" so I then prayed out loud. Reminding Nathan that our God is bigger than any storm and He is in control.
After a few minutes I realized Marcus was gone. I yelled for him to come back downstairs and he eventually did (now I know what my mom felt like yelling for me to come in the house when a storm was approaching as a kid). He said the tornado he saw was long gone but that on the news he heard that we were getting several waves of this storm and the next one was a few minutes away. So we waited and prayed some more.
After some time Marcus said he thought we were fine for awhile I decided to get Luke out and feed him and I handed Nathan a box of raisins to get his mind off of the storm.
Waiting out the storm. Nathan didn't like being stuck under the stairs.
My aunt then got a phone call and turned to me and said "Henryville is gone. The school is destroyed"
The students?!?!? The whole town? My brain couldn't fully comprehend what she was saying. How is the town that's 5 minutes north of us simply gone? And the students? Many schools let the students go home early because of the storms but Henryville didn't. Were they in the school when it was hit? Are they ok?
When we finally got the all clear for our area, we quietly went to the car and drove home. The term "close call" rolling around in our minds.
For the next several days the stories began to unfold on the news. Through tears- We heard these stories...praying for these families to survive.
A mother was seriously injured while shielding her two children in their basement (She ended up losing both legs)
A toddler was found in a field miles from her home- her baby sister, older brother and parents were killed in the storm (The toddler, Angel, passed away a few days later)
A whole family was seriously injured (later found out they are cousins of mine)- the dad, Darrell, carried each of his injured children to the grandma's house immediately after the tornado leveled their own house. He did this while he was suffering from a punctured lung and many broken bones from the waist up: all of his ribs, jaw, a shoulder, clavicle and his sternum. (read their story here... http://mysonginthenight.com/2012/03/03/gilles-family-tornado-devastation-update/)
Images that we just couldn't believe were captured a few miles down the road flooded our minds.
(www.theoriginalweatherblog.blogspot.com)
This is the same tornado Marcus saw from our house.
(Photo: Dan Goldblatt/WFIU News)
Henryville High School
(www.whtc.com)
(www.bellenews.com)
Henryville
Several weeks after the storm- I continue to be amazed at our community. How people are pulling together to reach out to those affected and remind them that there is hope. So many are donating their time, praying for Henryville and all those touched by this tragedy, giving items in need and being there to be the shoulder to cry on or listening ear.
God is the Creator. His signature is turning ashes into beauty. We are seeing His work in this disaster.
Sometimes in the fog of something we don't understand we want to get stuck in the "why?'s- but good is coming out of this.
Henryville will never be the same. We're all convinced it will be better. Stronger. United. A symbol of hope for everyone who remembers and sees this town that will rise out of the rubble.
I find myself thinking "a few miles south" "a few miles south" "a few miles south"
Just a few miles south and that would have been my home destroyed. Possibly my family. My life.
As a child we lost everything in a house fire so in a way I do understand how the kids feel that lost their possessions. But things are things. Stuff is stuff. It's lives that matter.
A few facts:
It was an F4 tornado that hit Henryville. That was also the same on Marcus saw.
There were 11 states affected on March 2nd and 3rd, 128 tornado sightings and 45 tornadoes confirmed. (NAOO)
34 people lost their lives in KY and IN. The towns most severely affected were Marysville, IN, Henryville, IN, and West Liberty, KY.
Our church is housing Samaritan's Purse Disaster Relief and to date our church, with the help of Samaritan's Purse, has raised $79,000 for tornado relief, sent out over 1,300 volunteers, clocked more than 10,000 hours- and most importantly- 25 people have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
This one says it all....
Beauty from ashes.
No comments:
Post a Comment