Oh my! What a day! And what a long time since I've written.. (sorry Ron) So many gaps of the past to fill in but for now will concentrate on current events.Tuesday was an exciting, stressful, eventful day and thankfully all is well with me and mine. :) Circumstances happened that I had switched workdays with Melissa so I was home to be close to the tv, Amber and the storm cellar. The local station had warned early on that if you had plans that day, it was best to cancel if possible and stay close to family and a safe shelter.
That was odd.. they are usually on the side of optimistic if at all in doubt.
I got ready early. swept the storm cellar out (Amber had already put a radio with batteries inside from the last tornado scare, with a chair), bought new batteries for my lantern/flashlight, got treats for Daisy to coax her into her space that had her blankie and toy. She nervously watched from the steps like "hell no, you are NOT getting me in there again!"
I registered the storm cellar with the local fire dept. in case the area was hit and they needed to know where to find storm cellars that people might possibly be trapped in. (Most towns keep a list to register)
Called Mom and Earl and let them know we were prepared since I know how mom's mind works. No sense in letting her hear how bad things were going to get through the media, and they knew we were home and safe.
The storms fired up exactly where they predicted..and with the speed they were predicting! I think with Joplin being fresh in everyone's mind people had a healthy respect for the instability and speed that tornadoes can become deadly. Watching the news reports were unsettling, unnerving, and scary as hell. From the back patio I looked toward the clouds wondering when we should go in the storm cellar. Eerie quietness in between the hot muggy tossing of branches and leaves..birds being noisy one moment..eerily quiet the next.
Then I watched what I thought was a bird dive bombing or landing very strange. No wait..that was debris falling from the sky... (Many expletives escaped my mouth at that point) Storm cellar NOW! Thank goodness Camaron was here! He put Daisy in, completely against her will, Amber, me, Camaron and Barron. I thought I heard tornado sirens but wasn't sure. Didn't care..we didn't need them to tell us before the heavy rains and what sounded like hail hit fast and hard. But the storms did move through fast. There was reports of an elephant trunk tornado on Hwy 102 at Firelake Casino headed towards us and Jacktown but it seemed to lift somewhere in between us. It missed Lowe's in Shawnee (thank goodness!) and most people i know or talked to are safe.
Today I walked out on the property (a nice walk in the woods, part of my "play day" :) ) and found many scraps of paper, insulation, shreds of sheetrock, bits of peoples homes that I wonder if they are okay. I found bank records of a lady I found on facebook (50 miles away in Lindsay,still hoping she'll friend me), found a receipt for some farm related receipt in Dibble, all from the beginning of the paths of these tornadoes that day.
I also found some pages from a Bible, newspaper, a calendar.. the paper from sheetrock from someones room... the small chips of paint left on it was pink... from a little girls room maybe. Shreds of the smallest and seemingly insignificant parts of a house, scattered and strewn about the pasture and property to melt into the landscape never to be found.
I collected every bit I found. And wondered and worried about every pieces origin and hoped the families were as safe as mine.
My family is safe.. we made it and hope everyone else is doing okay
Love Sandy
