A Tense Hour

It had rained on and off all morning, so I was slow to rise. As it turned to early afternoon, I found a few things to occupy my time.

By 4 p.m. I was groggy and still having trouble with my left arm. (Rain can do that.) It was worse than normal, hurting from my elbow through my fingertips.

I popped some pills and decided a nap might be in order. I was blissfully sleeping, Yorkie snuggled beside me (kind of as I'd planned to be early yesterday morning) when I was jolted awake.

THIS IS A TORNADO WARNING. TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY. This was followed by a loud siren. It's good to know that the emergency system is working, I guess, but I hate to be awakened like that. I hopped out of bed.


I woke up the mother, who was napping on the sofa, and immediately turned on the news. I grabbed flashlights and the cat carrier, a transistor radio and both cell phones. Then we sat and waited. And watched.


It got horribly dark. Very, very frightening. The wind began blowing through the trees and then the rain came. The sirens continued to go off.


We began hearing reports that a tornado had touched down about 20 miles or so away. We waited to hear if it was heading for us.

We watched as black clouds swirled closer and then over us. Then HEAVY rain came. It poured and beat on the roof, against the house, on the deck. But it was just rain and some wind.

Areas to the west and the north of us had power lines and trees downed. Cars and homes were damaged. We didn't hear any reports of injuries, thank God. We texted and called families and friends. I heard back from almost everyone that they were OK and I was thankful.

Finally, an hour later, it was over. Naturally, our road had been transformed into a lake. (Typical.) And we watched the dark clouds roll out and slowly be replaced by gray or in some cases blue, skies.

Here's hoping that everyone is OK out there and the storms continue to head to the northeast.



And just as I finished typing this, rain began to beat the roof again. I guess we're in for a good soaking.