Scary.

Long scary afternoon in Alabama. School let out early, I left work early. And then we sat. And waited. And watched the news. And listened to the sirens go off. It was a nerve wracking afternoon. Sirens were going off left and right, but not for our particular area. And then.... I see this on the news.... a tornado on the ground in Tuscaloosa. Heading for the University of Alabama campus. That monster is a mile wide and estimated to be an EF4 or EF5. And my niece happens to be a student there. I had texted her earlier making sure she was paying attention to the weather. She texted back that she and her pup were hunkered down in the laundry room at her boyfriend's house. Phew. I was glad to know she was off the road.

And then I saw this monster. And I was tearing up. And freaking out just a bit. Sent another text telling her to take cover NOW. So I paced. And prayed. And cussed just a bit. And then after what seemed like FOREVER, I got a phone call. She was shaken up and hysterical and just babbling 90 to nothing, but she was okay! I think that is the best damn phone call I have ever received in my life! Other houses on the street were not so fortunate. She said it looks like a war zone there. Total devastation all over the City of Tuscaloosa. She couldn't get a call through to her mom so wanted me to call and tell her she was okay. At this point, she doesn't know if her own apartment is still standing, but I told her that if its not, its okay, because she, her boyfriend and her pup can't be replaced, everything else can, and that they are okay is all that matters.

After I finished making the calls to family letting them know she was okay, the sirens went off here again. That same tornado was now on a direct path for us. Crap. Time to hunker down. We got lucky and it veered north, but north of us was hit pretty hard. I'm praying for all those families that weren't as lucky as we were. This day has been horrendous. And its not over yet.