As I watch the radar of the incoming storm and tornado alert for DC on MSNBC, I am thinking of my niece and her family whose Indiana farm was hit over the weekend by a Category 2 tornado. All in the family were unhurt, but there was significant damage.
There was no warning siren, or at least they didn't hear it. The children (age 8 and 5) were gathered up and they made their way to the basement with a cellphone as their guiding light. I can only imagine their terror as the equipment shed and grain elevator were ripped apart, the telephone poles snapped in two, the chimney crumbled.
They were lucky not to be physically injured, some 18 others on the east side of Indianapolis suffered some minor injuries. Currently, my niece and her husband are living in a camping trailer as they pick up the pieces, fill out insurance forms, and wait for the electricity and water to be usable. Their children are sleeping at grandma's.
Not physically injured, but emotionally scarred. Re-living the trama instead of sleeping. Walking in a daze unable to concentrate at work. The eight year old (8) had vommitting and diarrhea for two days afterwards and is still scared to death. And my niece told my sister-in-law "I'm not sure what a nervous breakdown is, but I think I'm gonna have one".
I remember growing up in "tornado alley" as it was (is?) called. When I was in elementary school we used to have tornado drills just like fire drills. We would file into the same gender restrooms, get on our hands and knees and cover our heads with our hands. The drills were a reminder that we lived in what could sometimes be a dangerous place. When I was in fifth grade the drill became a reality when a tornado passed us by and hit a tiny town east and south of us. The place was devastated. I can remember being totally scared in that girls restroom hoping and praying it wouldn't hit us.
I've been afraid of severe weather ever since. Throughout the 18 years we lived in Virginia, whenever a thunderstorm came through, I would grab the blankets, the portable radio and the flashlights and head for cover. I was always assured that the mountains would break up any storm before it got to us, but there were occasions when that wasn't true and we had warnings. Wasn't there a storm in Virginia just recently? (False sense of security).
Anyway, my point is that life is fragile and there are no guarantees. I think of the scary storms at my niece's house, the earthquake in China, the situation in Myanmar, our military at war, the homeless, etc. and I think it is easy to get focussed on our own lives, our own ambitions, our causes; and sometimes we need to refocus.