The Waiting Is The Hardest Part

I feel like I'm in limbo this week.

We're settling into our school routine, and life is pretty smooth, more or less, but all the same, I'm distracted.

This is the time of year when the folks in the Southeast get a little edgy about the weather. Some years it gains us nothing to be watchful, other than a surplus of batteries, ice and charcoal. Other years, like the year Hurricane Fran came through(1996), or Floyd (1999) we were complacent, and didn't prepare, so when the storms came through we were caught with our pants down and the paddling for not having our ducks lined up was ugly. Nothing like having no power and nothing to eat in the house for almost 6 days to make you take it seriously, right?

I like to think that if we make all the preparations nothing will happen. That the hurricanes are somehow sentient beings who prefer to wreak their havoc on the unsuspecting, so if we are ready and watchful, they'll pass us by.

It's what I like to think, because it beats the hell out of remembering and focusing on the absolute terror of hearing that non-stop howling wind; of the continual rattle and pound of god-knows-what falling on your roof; the worry that the flooding will be too great and the yard will crumble into the creek, taking part of the house with it; of insurance companies who take their time or refuse to compensate. Of trying to get on with your life when even putting dinner on the table or washing clothes are major hurdles.

And yet, we are prepared, as much as we can be, and all there is to do is wait. Wait and see.

In the words of Inigo Montoya, from "The Princess Bride" - "I hate waiting."

Who Needs Cable?

The weather yesterday was a' moving and a' shaking.

Shortly after the boys and I came home from school the sky began to darken considerably and the wind died completely down. When we checked the weather report on TV we saw that not only was there a severe thunderstorm on its way, but that a tornado had been sighted nearby as well. We sprang into action; the boys brought our nine head of cat into the house, while I battened down the windows.

It was actually rather anticlimactic. After hunkering in the hallway for about ten minutes, I went out to see where the storm was. Evidently it skirted our area and we only had a smattering of hail. But Bea wasn't as lucky. she pulled up in my driveway at that moment, exclaiming, "Jaysus H. Key-rist! I've never been so happy to be home!" Driving home from work, she had been right in the middle of the golf ball sized hail. She heard on the radio that we had a tornado in town, but she couldn't see anything other than torrential rain and the incessant ponging of hail on her seemingly frail little Toyota. It was at that point she was forcibly reminded of the movie "Twister" we had just watched last week - the part where they know the tornado is upon them but they can't see it. Oh yeah, she was having one of those never-ending high blood pressure moments.

She headed home and shortly afterwards, the Hubinator rolled in. He had come from the other side of the storm and driven through pretty much the same cats, dogs, and hail thing as Bea. He was surprised to see it hadn't done much here at the abode, although we did find evidence of some hail in the yard, and Bea had said the ground was covered in hail just three blocks north of us.

Whew! Did I mention how grateful I am it passed us by? Back in September we had a tornado come right down the street. It passed withing 30 feet of our house, ripping up almost a dozen trees in our immediate vicinity. That was too damn close. The kids and I hunkered in the hall, and the poor Bohemian, who I had pulled out of the shower, was only wearing a hand towel as we huddled together. Afterwards, I went out to try and assess the damage and clear the driveway for the man. As I was clearing the debris, something brushed the back of my head. Not thinking, I reached, and grabbed a power line of some kind. I looked at it in my hand and screamed like one of those stupid girls in a horror film, never letting go of the line. Kids - don't try this at home. Luckily for my Doofoid self, it was just a TV cable line, but what a classic scary movie scene it was - me out there screaming. I tell you - I'm dull bulb at times.
So we only got a nice soaking and a bit of drama, which is just dandy with this girl.

And the sunset was amazing.