Storm trauma

Last Friday, we had some sever storms to come through middle TN. The tornado that left 2 dead and 35 injured and many houses destroyed was less than 10 miles from my house. My kids spent about 45 mins or longer huddled in the downstairs bathroom while I stood watch at the back door, looking to the SW so I could see what was coming at us. I watched a rotating clouds go over my house, clouds that in less than 5 miles from here had a funnel cloud hanging from them. I don't know if it ever touched down. There were so many small tornadoes in the area that day that it might have been one of those or it might have just made a funnel and then fallen apart.

Monday afternoon, we had yet another line of thunderstorms come through. They hit just as school was letting out, and wouldn't you know, the kids all had dentist appointments that afternoon. We had to stop by the house and get the stroller for Sam, because he had gone to sleep, and while I was out of the car getting it, we had some lightening to hit really close by. FLASHCRACKBOOM! And I screamed. I was a little bit wound up.

Well, apparently so were the kids, or at least Ellie, because when we got to the dentist, we sat for a bit to let the rain slack off, and then I pushed the button to open the door and told them to jump out and run to the door. But Ellie wouldn't jump out. She got practically hysterically crying and saying "No, I don't want to go out! I'm scared. Please, let's go home, can we please just go home, Mommy?"

Dude, I just about fell apart over that. But, it also snapped me back together and made me realize I can't let my fears get a hold of me so badly. I mommied up and got her calmed down and we went on in to the dentist and she was fine.

The only blip after that was Sam had a come apart when we tried to wake him up for his turn in the chair. I ended up having to reschedule him for a time that wasn't nap time.

Thank god the rain and storm was done and over with and the sun shining by the time we came back out, though.