Monday, June 28, 2010

Storms




Oh my word!  We have had some pretty bad storms within a week of each other, and it has been crazy!  During the first storm, Ava (my daughter) and I were sitting in our truck in the Meijer parking lot waiting for my husband to get a fishing license.  It was pretty wicked.  We watched the dark clouds roll in from the west.  The sky kept getting darker and darker.  I texted Scott (my husband) and told him to speed it up!  But when you are waiting for someone else to serve you, sometimes it takes a while.  Ava was unbuckled and up front with me as we watched the storm coming.  Then the rain came.  It poured buckets, and the wind picked up, so it looked like the rain was going sideways.  We even saw a grocery cart go roll by and run into the side of a Jeep.  I don't think it did much damage, but I didn't get out to check.  I'm a good samaritin, but in the middle of a storm, that goes out the window!  At times the wind was strong enough to rock the truck a little.  Ava was nervous.  She asked if we could call Nora and check on her.  Now, Nora is our dog.  I reminded Ava that Nora would not be able to answer the phone.  But she said she would feel better if she could call and leave a message for Nora.  I conceeded.  If it was going to make Ava feel less nervous, that was fine with me. 

So the call went something like this:  "Nora, it's Ava.  Are you doing ok?  I know the storm is bad, but all you need to do is stay calm.  I'm a little nervous.  Just stay calm.  STAY CALM!  It will be okay.  Oh, and if I die and don't come home, I'm sorry."

I had to giggle at the end.  It was so sweet and sincere!  We kept the message on the answering machine. 
Driving home was awful.  When Scott finally got out to the truck, he was drenched.  It looked like someone had just dumped a bucket of water on him, and we were not parked that far from the entrance.  It was still storming when we set out on our way home, but it let up after a while.  However, the drive was like a maze.  No matter which road we took, we kept having to turn back and take a different one because there were so many trees down across the roads!  I'm not talking twigs either, but full-grown old trees that had just been snapped in half!  I don't think I had experienced this before.  We were like mice looking for the cheese, and it took forever!  A normal twenty minute drive ended up taking about an hour.  We didn't see any damage to homes, but we did see so many trees down.  We were lucky it was not worse.  By the time we had gotten to our home, the storm was over.  There was no damage to our trees or property either.

Five days later (this past Wednesday) we had another storm.  Luckily we were home at the time - sort of.  We don't have a basement, so we ended up going to my parents-in-law's home.  Ava and I were reading stories for bedtime when Scott told us that we should probably go to his parents house.  Ava was a little nervous again.  After loading up the dog, we got there qurickly and safely before it started to get nasty.  Ava went in and played with grandma - one of her favorite things to do.  The dog needed to go out, so I took her.  Scott and his dad were standing in the garage just watching.  We heard the storm coming before it got there.  You could not only hear the thunder and see the lightining, but you could hear the wind before it got there and made the trees move.  When I went back into the house, I coerced Ava  and grandma to go downstairs and play school with the chalkboard.  That was much easier than telling Ava we had to go to the basement for the storm.  This one seemed worse than the previous one.  I think it was because a small tornado supposedly touched our little town. 

Luckily the damage was not widespread.  Many trees were snapped in half again.  One barn lost it's roof, and one industrial building lost part of its second floor (pictures below).  I don't think anyone was injured (thank God!).  Again, our property was untouched, as were all of the ones on our road.  Let me tell you though, I am not a fan of storms.  They freak me out.  Having to pretend to be brave so that my child doesn't freak out is easier than I thought it would be.  I still do not like them though.

Storms are creative in their own way.  They morph the landscape.  It's almost like the wind is painting over a portrait that has already been finished.  Maybe it did not like the way the trees were sitting, or the way a building was built.  In any respect, the wind is an artist.  Not all art is beautiful and pretty.  Some art makes a statement.  Some art shocks.  Some art slaps you in the face until you have to look away from it.  The wind sometimes does this.  Why?  I'm not sure.  Maybe the good Lord just needed a change in the landscape.  Or was He sending us a message?  Life is fragile.  That fact is sometimes captured in art.  We should be thankful for the life we have, while we have it.  We should be thankful for the beautiful landscapes with which we have been blessed.  You never know when either may be repainted.

Be thankful for all you have been given!  What are you most thankful for?  Leave a message in the comments.  You never know, it could inspire a piece of art!  See you all next time!


Oh, and check out the sidebar for pictures from the storm!

5 comments:

  1. We HAD a tree in our front yard. During the first storm, my dad and sister were at the college swimming and the power went out. I was in the window watching the storm at my house, when my mom and I heard this really loud crack and a bang... The tree was on our house.

    Not too long after my dad went up (during the storm) and pushed it off, did the remaining part of the tree fall into the street. My sister was on the couch and said "Dad, there's something out there" and that's what it was.

    The house is okay for the most part. The porch is sort of smashed.

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  2. Oh my word! That stinks! At least nobody was hurt. Are you going to get your porch fixed?

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  3. I love love love the message Ava left for Nora.
    How sweet is that?! But so sad that she thought she might die.

    I am so glad you all made it home to Nora.

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  4. Thanks Welcome! We were glad to make it home too. Thank you for stopping in! :)

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  5. Yes, hopefully soon. We had to get stump taken out of the yard and now all that's left is a pile of dirt. A poor little Robin keeps sitting there and it's really sad.

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