More Than You Cared to Know About Our Stormy Night

I've always imagined it - in my vain imaginations - and tonight it actually came to pass. We had been warned all day about the bad weather that would hit the metroplex tonight. I hate it when I hear things that like in the morning because then I have to fight a sense of dread all day. So at about 6:00 the newscasters began telling us about a tornado warning near downtown Fort Worth. We listened as a woman spoke to an anchor while she was taking cover in a ditch (not my idea of taking cover). (Read about it here.) You could hear the tornado sirens through her phone. She was shouting about the debris flying all around and then she actually saw the beastly cloud coming her way. Is that not terrifying? I reached out my hand toward the TV and said, "God, have mercy!" I believe it dissipated and she's probably sitting down for dinner right now. If she can even eat. I'm not sure I can.

They warned us that the storm would hit our city within twenty minutes. I've always wondered what Curtis would do in this situation because he's always the one telling me to chill out. My fear has been that he wouldn't ever give us the go ahead to take shelter in the church basement, which doubles as our super nice fellowship hall. When I asked when he thought we should head over to the church basement, he said soon. At that point I knew it was really serious and not just me freaking out.

I got Beckham's leash because I couldn't stand the thought of him being here all alone. He gets so scared during storms. And if our house was to be destroyed, at least we wouldn't have the grief of losing our dog. Y'all know I love Bill, but he just wasn't making the cut at that moment. He would probably hide out under a bed and be fine. I packed the diaper bag with food, a flashlight, Jackson's pajamas, toys, a blanket, and diapers. We jumped in the Suburban, sans carseat, and took the twenty second drive to church. There was going to be a concert to raise awareness for the Invisible Children in the gym, so some of our college guys were up there getting ready. Right after we arrived, the tornado sirens began going off. I thank the Lord that we were already there because that was very eerie. We didn't have those in Houston, so that was my first experience with sirens.

Curtis headed downstairs with Jackson and Beckham while I stood at the window and called Sunni. I was hoping she and Ava would make it in time, but the storm came upon us so quickly that it wasn't safe for her to leave her home. There were very few cars driving around, but the ones that were were driving really fast. A few people were standing in their yards watching the sky and talking on cell phones. Then there was a loud crack of lightning and I boogied my beehind into the basement.

We actually had a fun time down there. Jackson walked all over the place while Beckham ran around and made friends with everyone who was hiding out. They had a blast. I fed Jackson his dinner while we watched The Office on someone's laptop. Once we were there, I was in complete peace. The Lord is sweet to me. He knows I've just needed a basement my whole life.

The storm just barely missed us. I think the north part of town got pretty bad hail. Haltom City got some bad damage and actually had a tornado touch down. Tomorrow will tell what all actually happened. We are getting more storms tonight but they aren't supposed to be as bad.

So that was my very long-winded report of our first tornado evacuation to the church. Now that we've experienced it one time I think it will give me confidence in future storms. Well, it turns out I am hungry and will be able to eat after all. I'm going forth to make my Lean Cuisine.

*Update* I just tried the Chicken Primavera and I highly recommend it. And here's a link to all the freaky storm pictures.