So, when we moved here in the summer of 2003, we had just spent most of our last springtime in Tennessee huddled in our shower in Murfreesboro as the tornadoes passed overhead. We spent so much time hunkered in the shower that spring, Flannery developed a phobia of showering that took us a couple of years to work through. (For you New Englanders unaccustomed to tornado dodging, shower stalls and bathtubs usually are the safest places to take shelter during a tornado if you don't have a basement or storm shelter.) We moved up to New Hampshire with some relief thinking how bad could a snowstorm possibly get....
Fast-forward to last Thursday night...Andy and I are lying in bed listening to the house creak as the wind pummeled our home. We literally watched a transformer on an electric pole explode into blue flame through our bedroom window. We lost power after that. Andy brought Flannery and Percy-Kate downstairs and tucked them in bed with me. He slept on the sofa with flashlight at the ready. Ruby never knew anything was going on. I must admit I pondered if a family of 5 (plus Nana) could fit in our bathtub. The howling winds brought back nervous thoughts.
Friday we awake to the disaster zone that was our neighborhood.
A "snowicane" they are calling it. Who ever heard of such a thing? Just like the term "nowcasting" instead of "forecasting"..is there such terminology outside of New England? Nonetheless, whatever the weather event was, by Friday evening after experiencing hurricane winds, torrential rain, snow, sleet, and hail, all within 24 hours, I was earnestly searching the horizon for Jesus to be parting the clouds in return.
By Friday evening, instead of eating cake and pizza with family in honor of Flannery's birthday, we were looking for a place to stay for the night. Just as we were about to head out to Julie and Al's for the weekend, our power was restored. What a joy to be able to turn the heat way up! I quickly frosted and decorated Flannery's birthday cake. We had been driving around with the layers of cake and supplies along with our clothes in our search for housing. I promised Flannery once we got settled somewhere I would make her cake and we would eat it ourselves, party or no party. So, all the better that we could eat it at home. She was disappointed that the boys weren't with us, but too tired from lack of sleep the previous night to lament the party cancellation very much. We Skyped Mammaw and Pappaw and they joined us in singing to her.
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