Riding out the storm

Today is my official last weekday off for this summer. Summer has flown by with many turns along the way.

I haven't blogged in almost 2 weeks. I can make any excuse I want, but the bottom line is, they are all excuses. The last time I blogged we were still in Illinois and typed about our severe weather outbreak that we were in the midst of. On Monday, July 21st at 6:15 am, we were a direct hit of a Derecho storm, which is basically the equivalent of an EF1 Tornado. To be quite honest, I am still in shock of the whole thing ans have a difficult time talking about it. The only thing I could think to say about this experience was it was almost like being outside of the house during Hurricane Wilma. The noise, the sounds were horrible. We were Not in a safe place during the storm. With that being said, God was with us. He was our safe shelter during the storm. He protected us and that is all I can really say.

After the storm has passed, we, the whole town was in complete shock and many faces seemed disoriented. As we traveled touring the damage, the look and sounds were complete devastation. There was no power, and no relief from the heat. But again, God was in control. We were able to seek shelter in another town at my Aunt's house. We were able to shower and prepare for our departure out of town the following day.

As the sun came up on Tuesday morning, Shelly was more than willing to "jump" out of bed knowing that we were on our way home. The airport is only 2 blocks from my Mom's house and the same destruction and devastation that was all through my Mom's neighborhood was the very same at the airport. The airport was running on generator power only with only 2 airline able to fly in and out. Praise God, Delta was one! We sifted through manual check-in and had to go through the "old fashion" way of boarding the plane. I hadn't seen so many happy faces as I did while boarding that plane.

We got home late Tuesday evening and Shelly was lost in her Dad's protecting arms. Once I hit Greg's arm, I collapsed into him. He had never looked more beautiful to me than he did that very moment we made eye contact.

Unfortunately, we left my Mom behind to deal with the clean-up and insurance adjusters. My Mom is such a strong lady. She is classy in every sense of the word. I am so honored to be her daughter. I only hope that one day I will have the same kind of strength as her.