3 months ago today, so many of our lives were turned upside down.
April 27, 2011, will be a day that NO ONE will ever forget. In Alabama, everyone was affected. If you weren't directly touched by the tornadoes, you knew someone that was.
I will never forget that day.
Here in Bama, we are used to springtime severe weather. But nothing of this magnitude. As we braced for the day, it immediately felt different. We had been listening to our local weathermen warn us for days... this will be a storm like no other we've seen. Many people don't heed the warnings (b/c many times, the risk is there, yet nothing happens). This was not one of those times. Practically our entire state was under a HIGH risk for severe weather: hail, wind, long track tornadoes. That never happens.
School's closed. People left work. Heading home to sit and wait. If we had only known just how BAD it would be. I wonder what we would've done. However, for so many, unfortunately, there was nothing they could've done differently. The tornado was inescapable.
The most horrific part, it went on ALL DAY LONG. There was warning, after warning, after warning. It was hard to keep up with what was going on. I remember my husband calling several times that day, as he was watching tornado after tornado on the television. He'd call to check on us, and see where we were, making sure we were prepared to take shelter.
I'll never forget the phone call from him right after the Tuscaloosa tornado hit, devastating the area. He was panicked. Panicked that he couldn't be with us, panicked that he was watching the monster take out a whole city, panicked that we were in the line of the storm.
We took cover immediately, however, there was a storm a little north of us that was doing damage that we were concerned about. As we stood in my parents' driveway, we watched as it passed by us, about 15 miles away. I'll never forget that image. We still took cover, as the winds were whipping. We crawled into my parents' storm pit (a 6x6 steel box in the floor of their garage). I hoped we'd never have to use that thing, as I was a little anxious about climbing in... but I'm so very thankful for it. If we had been in the path of that tornado, that would have been the only way we would've survived. Being completely underground.
On this day, basements didn't even promise safety and shelter. So many lost their lives after their homes collapsed on top of them. Who would ever imagine that?
I'll never forget the stories that were told... and are still being told today. The lives that were affected. The children who lost their parents. The families left with only the clothes on their backs. Left to start over... from scratch.
I will forever be thankful that my family was kept safe that day. I pray we NEVER experience devastation like that again. There are no words to describe it. Horrifying just doesn't begin to do it justice.
If you haven't bought this book, you need to.
One day, when Jase is old enough, I'll show him the pictures... read him the stories. Even at 3, he still remembers the day the storms came and blew away people's homes. He remembers climbing down into a pit, shutting the door to darkness, wondering what the world would look like when we crawled out. He remembers me sitting in the floor of our dark, powerless house, crying. He remembers his daddy being gone for days and days, helping restore power to our entire state. Those are memories that will never be forgotten. Even for a child.
One day, he'll read about it in his history book at school. See pictures... understand the magnitude of the storm.
To those whose lives were ripped apart, I hope and pray that you have been able to resume some sort of normalcy since that day. I hope and pray that you know... you are not alone. We are all here for you. We are praying for you, for your families, your hearts and minds.
We will never forget.
