I should amend yesterday’s top ten to “the things you don’t want to hear your meteorologist say”… Things like, oh I don’t know, FUNNEL CLOUD, 60MPH WINDS, TAKE COVER, BASEBALL-SIZED HAIL. Yeah, things like that freak me out.
I am a Panhandle girl and I’m certainly no stranger to all things windy. We spent many a night in our basement with flashlights, candles and blankets. But, ‘ol P-flugerville has a fancy limestone base that doesn’t allow for such luxuries. So, when the news came in that Central Texas, particularly southern Williamson County and Pflugerville, were experiencing weather that produces funnel clouds, Scott and I didn’t mess around. I felt like we were at a sports bar, we were watching as many weather channels as we could trying to figure out if this was serious business or just nasty weather. We finally made the decision to get all 4 kids up and huddle in the bathtub. They did pretty well…considering.
Will: curled up in the tub and tried to sleep
John Paul: annoyed he said, “Will, he taking up all the space in here, Mommy.”
Anna-Laura: oblivious to the chaos, she kept making Clare laugh
Clare: yes, laughing up a storm (bad pun, sorry) and kept trying to turn on the bath faucet
Me? Well, I was praying Hail Mary’s, refereeing the shoving match between the boys, smiling and trying to keep the squirmy 10-month-old from dousing us all with cold water. Scott, in the meantime, had drug John Paul’s mattress into the bathroom and was sprinting between the bathroom and the living room with the latest updates. Yes, it was a sight to see. After 30 minutes, we got everybody back in bed, thankfully.
I have to tell you, though. As all that craziness was going on, I just kept thinking, My whole family, everyone I love in this house, is in the bathtub. The bathtub! With a mattress and a flimsy Texas-themed shower curtain to keep us safe. Thank you God for technology and we pray for all those who are in the path of this storm.
Here’s hoping we don’t have to do that anytime soon!
i just saw on the 6:00 news that your area had the bad stuff. glad y’all are safe and sound! a few weeks ago when we had it we didn’t even hear the sirens…even though i was awake at 3:15 because of the wind and rain!
LOL!! I am glad that we were not the only ones. All five of us and the dog were in the closet under the stairs. We debated on getting the kids up, but when we heard “Windermere” on the alert we got them up!! Rhys & Lucy slept. Ethan was up for a long time. I think the only reason he went back to sleep is because Jacob promised to stay up and watch the news until all of the storms passed! Next day at school a lot of Moms admitted that their families had spent the night in the tub. Better safe than sorry. I felt good when we were all in the closet…like this is the best we can do Lord! I am glad that it all came to not!
Kelley, ROFL. I can only imagine. I’m betting half of Pflugerville was doing the same thing. We were superstars at school, everybody kept asking if we were ok. Thank goodness the damage didn’t make national news 🙂