Waking up to see a devastated portion of your home state on the national news is not a great way to start of the week. My parents were talking about the horrendous storms rolling through yesterday evening; seeing pictures of destroyed lives quickly quiets any lingering complaints from yesterday afternoon. And thinking of my brother, his daughter, and grandbaby travelling through that same area earlier in the day? Yikes. Do we have any idea how quickly our lives could change?
I'm proud to be from where I am from. When I first moved away and began teaching, I had a whole lot of kids making fun of how I talk (and this is in the South, mind you... yeah, I see the irony in that, too). I don't know if you would say I'm from hillbilly country or the redneck woods, I just know that I was twenty-one before I ever ate Chinese food or realized that a R was not part of the word wash. Travel time to any hospital or institutes of higher education require a good forty-five minutes and the dodging of various horse-and-buggies and/or the Amish on a bike. Tractors? Well, you might as well expect to get caught behind one of those. You definitely don't get anywhere very fast. Most people wave (and it's not the one-finger wave either). It's just the laid-back version of any small town life.
The opening of Wal-Mart was a big deal.
And then came McDonald's and Hardee's and Sonic.
Not to mention the installation of the first and only stoplight.
Yep, it was a good place to grow up and raise our kids for the first half of their young life. Hardee's is no more, but not much else has changed. It will always be one of my favorite places to visit and a very big part of who I am now. You see, I still don't get in much of a hurry. While driving the kids to school this morning, a lady was determined to beat me off the light at the interstate ramp. I let her (I'm pretty sure my mini-van could have taken her, just so we're clear). As my dad says, you eventually catch up with them at the next light anyway. No sense burning that expensive gas needlessly. Oh, I have my moments as my kids would be quick to point out, but I usually end up feeling foolish and wondering why I felt the need to prove the motor under my hood. Those times, thankfully, are few and far between.
I'll tell you, though, watching these weather reports makes you wonder when your area might be next. It's almost becoming not a matter of if, but just a question of when. Like I said, it definitely puts my sniveling from yesterday into perspective... no matter how my husband interprets the calendar. To all my family and friends in the Midwest, keep your eye on the sky today. Have a plan of action ready.
Memorize Psalm 91.
You could always move south, you know.
My front porch rocking chairs face the west.
We could watch the clouds roll in, drink sweet tea, and pray.
I'm all for having company.
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