Bad news first.
On April 27 we huddled in our bathroom, as did countless other Alabamians, while the tornadoes raged outside. We were SO LUCKY that our home only had minor cosmetic damage and no one in our family was hurt. Other friends weren't so lucky. Our neighbors are still picking up the pieces of what the storm left, and it's almost two months later. My dear friend Sarah Lena wrote about it here, as did Rocket City Mom.
The boys and Hotwheel Hubs were all home when one of the tornadoes circling overhead swirled past our house, never touching down but causing damage to our house and trees. The sound was pretty scary and this previously storm-fearless girl is a lot more wary when the weather alerts happen now. The laundry list of wind damage:
- snapped our basket ball goal clean in two
- zigzag-bent gutters
- tree fell on our fence & back deck
- tons of shingle & roof damage
- picked up our garbage can and bashed it against the garage door
- 8 out 16 shutters MIA
- cracks in brick mortar
- damage to Hubs' car from loose roof shingles
Some of our neighbors on our street were hit even harder, and this was just a tornado that never touched down! Others mere miles down the road weren't as lucky.
We were at home without power for seven days. Despite the fear and the sadness and the worry, the technology break was nice. We played with our neighbors, visited friends, cooked food on the grill, helped with the recovery effort, and generally reconnected. I still hear people talk about how they were a bit disappointed when the power came back on, but oh-so-happy to take a hot shower.
The boys and I volunteered at the public library a few days after the storm. They were offering free wifi and their entire bank of computers for people to check on their families and make calls to FEMA and insurance companies. Most people just wanted a break, some air conditioning, some books to read. Everyone wanted to talk. It was library therapy. I was so proud of Finn - he reshelved two entire carts of children's picture books that the library had backlogged since the storms - all by himself.
Now on to Happier News.
School Play!
Finn was a Who in his school's production of "Seussical the Musical". A star is born!
Team Sports!
Eli apparently has knack for all things running, kicking, and jumping. Who knew?
VBS and Lost Teeth!
Tooth total: Finn, 5 / Eli, 1
School's out and I'm home with the beastie boys 24/7. Summer has hit us with a vengeance (90+ degrees for over 20 days straight here!) and we're spending lots of time at the pool. Then this happened...
He didn't even TELL me he was going to do this. I looked up and THERE HE WAS, on the diving board!
I've decided this is the "summer of sampling" and we're trying bite-sized versions of swimming, soccer, basketball, Irish step dancing (Finn), martial arts, dance camp, and theater. Then the boys can pick what they like best and we'll do that after school starts. I want them good and exhausted at the end of the day.
I'm also doing some freelance PR & marketing and volunteering around town when I can. Idle hands are boring. And somehow satanic so I've heard. So there's that.
2 comments:
Enjoyed the long post!!! Nice you don't have blogger's guilt, I do. Loved that you caught Finn on video jumping off the diving board!
I love y'all so much and miss you. We need girl time, STAT.
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