May 10, 2000
Storm
Yesterday was a mental health day in the truest sense of the word. I stayed home, did some errands, got myself recentered, did a few 'me' things. I was doing much better.Then the storms hit.
I grew up in Michigan. I'm used to big thunderstorms, tornadoes, watching the news to see if it's time to take shelter or not. This was the first one I've ever sat through alone. I didn't realize what a difference it makes. I kept a careful eye on the television, and sure enough, around 8:25 pm, a tornado warning was issued for my area. In fact, the predicted that the tornado would pass through my town at about 8:40. I live in a mobile home, so I scooped up Max, tossed on some shoes and grabbed my keys. Max started yowling as soon as we stepped outside. He hates outside, he was getting rained on, and no doubt he sensed that I was stressed. But I tossed him in the car, and off we went to the park office.
With a howling cat in my arms and the skies turning black and green behind me, I dashed through the rain to the office, to find a middle-aged lady and her elderly father, and a scared shitless security guard. The park has no procedure for tornadoes. You see, all of the trailers are tied down, so we're all safe to stay in our homes. Yeah, right. The park office has no basement, either, and no internal rooms. With the security guard not being much help, I suggested that we head into one of the bathrooms, which at least had no windows.
As winds whipped at the building and the storm got close, other people started trickling in, a few families. I ended up trying to calm down several crying boys, maybe between the ages of 8 and 12. Max was hiding behind the fake plant in the corner, and I was sitting on the cold tile next to him. It's funny, put me in any sort of crisis situation, and I'll start taking care of the people around me, no matter how upset or scared I am. I guess it gives me something to focus on. So I joked with people, and told the kids what little I know about tornado safety, and we all waited out the storm. The whole while I was terrified inside, sure that the outside door near me was going to blow open, or that the walls would come down, or some such.
By about 9pm, the worst had passed, and the warnings had all expired, so people started to go home. I was one of the last, gathering up Max, who started squalling again, and going back to the car. By the time I got home (perhaps a 3 minute drive), Max was hiding under the passenger seat. I had to drag him out while standing in the middle of a thunderstorm. We got back in the house and assessed the damage. One stressed cat, one stressed owner, wet floors from where I'd had the windows open. I also had a nasty scratch on my arm courtesy of Max, and several claw holes in one my best shirts. The lesson there is, next time I have to evacuate with the cat, he's going into his car carrier.
It took me several hours to calm down again. Every time thunder cracked, I jumped. Finally, after the storms stopped completely, and after a little bit of help from Bailey's and Kahlua mixed with milk, my heart stopped racing.
If I don't get over this, I'm afraid this is going to be a very long tornado season.
Posted by Lisa at May 10, 2000 11:58 AM
