Tornadoes

I remember sitting in the basement with my basket of “friends” and collectibles that I could not imagine living without, listening to the radio with my mom and sister and praying that the storm would just blow over and no one would be injured. Remember trying to wrangle up the cats because we didn’t want them to be out there on their own. Then we realized that it wasn’t worth the effort and that they instinctly knew the best place to hide.

Last night tornadoes came through Merrill, WI. First time the girls have experienced it close enough to have the sirens going. As my husband gathered the things we would need for in the basement and my mother-in-law got the girls to eat some dinner, I went and found the girls’ most prized possessions. I got the one her basket of friends that she is never without. I got the other 2 a pillow case with theirs in so that they could squeeze them if we ended up in the basement. I remember what a relief it was for me to have and I wanted to make sure that the girls had that for them.

We were truly blessed to be able to fall asleep in our own beds in our own house and to have only to experience the wind and the rain. Three families in our circle of friends lost their houses last night (current count). One family has extensive damage. A brother had a tree uprooted in his yard but thankfully it missed his house by inches. Many in town are without power. We said a prayer of thanks for the blessing we received and a prayer of guidance and protection for those that were in the path of the destruction. And this morning, I said an extra prayer of thanks for the girls not having any nightmares from the experience.