Sad Day

I don't have pictures or a funny story to tell. I just had to take a minute to acknowledge the horrible events of April 27, 2011 when a series of tornadoes took our state hostage. This day and its aftermath will forever plague our history books, and I have to thank God that we were spared when so many people were not so fortunate. We had known for several days that Wednesday was going to be a day of severe weather. We are not strangers to severe weather around here, and in fact we have had our share of "big ones" in this state but nothing could compare to what would happen that day. We had a string of storms that morning including some strong tornadoes, but the worst was yet to come for the evening when a second round of storms was predicted. The power was out at Z's school, and I had patients to see, so hubs worked from home and took care of Z, and I worked. We closed early on the news that more storms were coming, but everything was eerily quiet until about 6 that night. We were tuned in to the weather and all the news men had their sleeves rolled up (a sign that this thing was getting serious). Then, all of a sudden we saw the direct shot a weather camera atop the courthouse in Tuscaloosa got of the nearly mile wide tornado, and we were all speechless.

The aftermath has been even worse, but I feel like the state has really pulled together to help the countless number of people who have been affected. I pray this tragedy will be known not just for its massive destruction but for the strength of the human spirit and inspiring way the people helped each other get through it.