What a season for tornadoes it's been. Unfortunately, they are literally all over the central and south eastern parts of the US as of late. Over 500 people have been killed within about a month due to these destructive storms. Just the other night, the city in which I live in was forecast a 9 out of 10 chance by the weather forecasters of having severe storms and tornadoes. They were right, as we had both. We were lucky though. The whirlwind storms did some damage but nothing to get all up in a tizzy about. I heard someone lost a roof and there are trees down in places (including my neighborhood) but all in all, we were lucky. Other towns and cities have been absolutely DEVASTATED this year.
This week had started out normal. I had just put up a new playground after work, for my boys, and then a phone call came. In casual conversation someone mentioned the storms headed our way. I had no clue this was coming so I got on the computer and started checking my local forecast and sure enough, we were predicted to get nailed! At first, I totally freaked out. We were supposed to go on vacation just a couple days from then and I called my wife and said, "We're going to leave today for vacation! Get home, we're leaving now!"
Ok, so maybe that wasn't the most sensible reaction. But my instincts were to save my family at all costs from the impending doom headed our way. As it turns out, my wife and kids and I went over to my moms house and we rode the storms out in a closet together. You'd have thought we were going camping or something. My kids had game systems and toys to play with in the closet. We had blankets and pillows to cover up with and to sit on too. And even though it was a little unnerving and incredibly cramped (3 adults and 2 kids in a closet is tight) the conversation we wonderful. It was an unplanned vacation in which the family simply set around and communed together. We played games in the closet with the kids to distract them from the whirlwind storms outside. We talked, we laughed and it was generally a wonderful time with those I dearly love. It made me think about how important these people are to me in my life and how I'd be lost without each of them. I also had a reality check that reminded me that we aren't promised more time than the present with the people we love. That made me ask myself, why do we ever let the whirlwinds of life take us from those we love?
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