Counting Blessings

Yesterday I mentioned the wonderful weather we were having and the storms that were headed our way. Well at the end of the local 12pm news yesterday, they showed a map of our region along with certain areas shaded in. Some were at a slight risk for severe weather, others were moderate and we were at high risk for severe weather last night. So I settled down on the couch hoping that it wouldn't hit until after I had picked up Bryce and Belle from violin and basketball practices respectively. I had the tv running all afternoon to make sure that it wasn't moving in to the area yet, and that I didn't have the need to run and pick them up early.

After picking up both kids at their scheduled times, I returned to my home at 5pm. The thunder was just beginning to rumble. By the time I had supper cooked, we were getting our fair share of thunder and lightening and a severe thunderstorm warning had been declared in our county. Our part of the county was spared hail, though other sections not far from here were not as lucky. A short time later, a tornado warning was declared for a small section here and the next county. I have not heard whether the tornado actually touched down or if it was just funnel clouds but there were reports of wind damage for the neighboring county. Then things calmed down long enough for the kids to each grab a bath before bed time. Around 9, I gave dear hubby the outlook of his weather, what was going on and what he was driving into since he was almost to the Texas/Arkansas border. He was following the storms and they would not have an affect on him. I wouldn't have to worry about him driving into them. The next wave of storms rolled in about that time. Horrible lightening, strong winds, and lucky again, no hail for us. We were declared under another severe thunderstorm. When the 10pm news came on, we were still under this warning and the severe section of the storm was showing over top of my section of the county. They gave information of a couple and their daughter killed by a tornado, in a county about an hour away. When the worst part had moved away from me, I moved my weather radio and oil lamp to my bedroom and went to bed, Benedryl strongly urging me to close my eyes.

This morning, I awoke oblivious to all that was going on around me. Things were quiet here. The wind was howling, the birds were chirping and it wasn't as cold as it was supposed to be, but I sent the kids to school in coats anyway. Hubby called while I was encouraging the kids to move, and told me he wasn't far from his stop, but feared damage to the terminal as he was getting reports of damage to a school that wasn't far from there. I put the kids on the bus, turned on the news and couldn't believe the devastation that I was seeing. Buildings damaged, people trapped, and 45 killed so far. Jackson, Tennessee is one place that I was hearing most of the news about. The college that was leveled and the kids that had been trapped last night. The college that is not far from the terminal Hubby was scheduled to stop at.

He called again, a short time later, after getting to the terminal. "My truck is trashed." I'm thinking something had happened and he had wrecked the truck he was driving. What I had forgotten was that he had dropped "his" truck at that terminal yesterday morning for maintenence. He was in a loaner truck. His truck had gone through the tornado yesterday. Windows shattered, doors wouldn't shut, the items they didn't take with them were thrown all over the truck. While he didn't take pictures of his truck, he did get a few pictures on his camera phone of other damage in the parking lot and sent them to me.

So today I'm am thankful that we didn't get the worst part of the storms, thankful Hubby wasn't in the truck that is now trashed, and hurting for the people who are suffering because of this odd weather.