>Scared
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I have lots of stories to tell you all, but to be honest, this is all I’m thinking about today.
Nashville is expected to get between 4 and 8 inches of rain this afternoon, along with tornadoes, high winds, large hail, and flash flooding. Most of the school districts in Middle Tennessee have canceled school. Ours has not, but I kept the kids home anyway. I’m confident that they’d be safe inside their school buildings during severe weather. I’m not confident I’d be able to get to them during or after a major storm, and that freaks me out. And I know me– I would NOT be able to stay home. I’d be doing everything I could to at least be with them and make them feel safe.
A few weeks ago, the kids were at school during severe weather. We get lots of thunderstorms this time of year, so I didn’t think too much about it– at least until our weather radio started going off every 20 seconds. I turned on the news just in time to see that the worst of the weather was right over my neighborhood, and as I watched the news, the wind picked up, the house began making sounds it’s never made before, and I ran for our bathroom in the center of the house. A dozen minutes later, the worst had passed– right in time for me to pick up the kids, whose schools are just a few minutes away.
I headed out only to find that a large tree had fallen, blocking the road. I turned around and took an alternate route. Everywhere around me, power lines and trees were down in lawns, on tops of houses and in the roads. I barely made it around one fallen oak to get to the kids. As I drove, I started crying, despite my best efforts to stay calm. I was definitely a little more panicked than I should have been, and how could I not be?
A 1,000-year flood will do that to you.
I’m thinking of all of us today, across middle Tennessee and especially here in my community. So many of my neighbors lost their homes last May. So many have only just moved back in. I’m sure we’re all feeling a little more panicked than usual this morning as the weather people warn us of impending doom. A little more fearful. A little more prone to tears.
Here’s hoping that tomorrow morning, we’ll find that all our worries have been for nothing.
