Stormy Season Upon Us

Alternate Title: Five Plagues Down, Glad I Have a Daughter!

Needless to say, this has already been a crazy year for us with the weather. Starting on December 31st we have had:

• Tornado hit Sunset Hills, between my work and my wife's, and only about a mile from each.
• Two snow storms that shut school down for enough days to push end-of-school back by a week
• An ice storm that helped contribute to those days, too
• A Tornado that tore up our airport, which is an international hub
• A Tornado that hit on the southwest side of the state, but tore down a hospital that is in the system I work for
• Just heard word of an earthquake less than an hour from St Louis, too!
• (The other "plague" is the locusts - I mean cicadas! They are insane so far!)

My Sister-in-Law asked that I do a blog post on how Abby is handling all of the craziness with the weather. In a word - oblivious.

She loved the snow and was unsure of the ice, though she was looking forward to ice skating lessons, so there was some upside for her, too. She had a blast staying home unexpectedly for those wintery storms, though she got pent up pretty quickly and we could only spend so much time at the mall.

The first tornado was interesting for all of us - we had NO idea what the siren going off was about. We were at the Recreation Center signing up for ice skating lessons for Abby, and getting our whole family ID cards for Parks and Rec. We heard the sirens blare on what was a beautiful December day. By the time we got home the sky had turned and Anny was opening the shades so we could see the impressive rain. When the next siren blew, being the third, I suggested we drop the blinds and maybe hang out in the closet until the worst of it was over.

Since then we have huddled several times in our very spacious master-bedroom closet. We have a lantern and books at the ready, all we need to do it pull the laundry out and we have a nice space for all of us to sit and read or catch up on the day.

Abby has really taken all of the craziness in stride - most of these bad tornado-style storms have hit at bed time, which I thought would be a major challenge. Abby has just relished the full-on attention and the extra story (or two) at the end of the day. I think we have talked with her in general terms about how dangerous the storms have been, and how some people have lost their homes or lives. I do not think she grasps it, and for now that is okay with me.

As for the earthquake? I am just adding that to the list of plagues that we are going through. I was relieved to hear a meterologist say this morning that we are having a VERY strang season. This is not the norm. I look forward to a season of normal soon, but I'm not counting on it until it happens! In the mean time I am going to drink lots and lots of water - in addition to the earthquake we are having a heat way of August-sized magnatude. Does look like it will let up for Abby's birthday on Sunday - fingers crossed!