Nope, but if you've been paying any attention to the news, Nebraska sure has had several close calls with tornadoes lately. This evening we decided to go out for a walk with the kids. See us innocently taking a few shots of the kids in the joggers--totally unaware of how close a storm was.
But the storm was brewing very close--hovering just East of Chadron. I remember our neighbor, seeing us loading the strollers, and asking if we were aware of the warnings. We told her we knew there were thunderstorms coming. She said Rapid City had just been pounded with hail. But we explained we HAD to get out of the house for a bit and enjoy a brief walk before the storms arrived.
And brief it was...
We were about 3 blocks from our house when an extraordinary wind hit us. Dust and branches were blowing all over the place. I told Lee that I didn't like how the sky was looking. And, as if cued by my statement, the spooky tornado alarms immediately began sounding their eery whistle. Now, if you've never lived in Chadron, Nebraska then you don't know what I mean by alarms. We have several huge speaker systems set up all around our town. They go off whenever there's a fire, whenever there's an accident (or 911 call), and whenever it's noon or 9:30 (mid-day and curfew). And apparently they also sound when there's a tornado (we had just never heard that specific alarm before). When my parents were here a couple years ago, they had the pleasure of hearing this alarm and my father described it as sounding like very fast wind on a window screen. Good description!
My feet began running before I could think about what to do and as we rounded the next block we saw others fleeing for home, as well. I asked a neighbor biking up the street if this was a tornado alarm and he said, "I think so!"
Well, needless to say, we made it home safely (or I probably wouldn't be writing this post). But we hung out in the basement with the kids for a while until the alarms stopped sounding. Whew! Looks like we braved yet another close call.
I’m a joyful woman who wears many hats, including: wife, mom, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, granddaughter, cousin, friend, teacher, librarian, and follower of Christ. I’m also an ex-public school teacher turned SAHM turned unschooling mom. Our little midwestern family is tremendously grateful for the liberties we have to home school, 
1 ♥ thoughtful comments ♥:
I'll never forget the first time we went to see you in your new home...how fast the storm blew in, tornado warnings, and down to the basement we sped -- with only a little bit of breast milk left in a bottle, a baby boy, and a little girl. We told "happy" stories as we huddled against a wall -- scared silly. Where were you and Lee? Out on a hike in the hills. All we could do is pray and hold on to the babes. And suddenly, God brought you down those creaky stairs. I couldn't show what I really felt, 'cause it would have scared the kids! I wanted to burst out bawling and laughing and hugging and going plain crazy with unmanageable joy!
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