We heard the sirens. I woke the kids and put them in the closet and sat with my back to the door, because it was too small for all of us to fit. I laid a mattress over me, knowing it was the safest place for them to be. I was praying, texting my oldest daughter to make sure she was safe, and wondering if I should leave my spot and go the 10 feet to the bathtub. My heart didn’t want to leave what was on the other side of that flimsy hallway closet door, though.
I sat there listening to the familiar worship music spill out from under the door that Camryn was playing on her phone. I heard Kimber comforting her guinea pig, Max. Thorne kept asking if it was over yet. “Mom, you ok?”, one of them would say about every three minutes. “I’m ok, baby!”, I replied every time in the most uplifting tone I could muster.
The truth is I was beyond scared. I was listening to the wind thinking about where the trees would land if they fell on our house and whether or not the roof would just come off completely. Silently begging that whatever happened, it would spare them, even if that meant taking me. Selfishly, I wanted someone to comfort me, too.
The kids asked me to take cover in the bathroom. Camryn assured me she had everything under control in the closet. She will be 16 in a few weeks and she really stepped up last night. I’m proud of how she responded when it got serious. We got lucky that after about 30 minutes, it passed without touching our home. Not everyone was that lucky.
I’m so sad today for those who lost everything. With all we already have going on in the world right now, sheltering in place brings new challenges to those who lost their shelter last night. I continue to pray for everyone effected.
Peace. Love. Prayers
-M
Relatively Monica 