Tornados

Living in Texas you become familiar with tornado's at a very young age. Well at least most Texans. I grew up in El Paso, the furthest part of west Texas you can be, yet still be a Texan. In El Paso we were surrounded by mountains and lived in the desert so never really had the threat of tornado's. So as a child I never worried about them until I went to visit my family in the Panhandle. I vividly recall the time at my grandparents farm when my grandmother woke me up and said we had to go the cellar because the sirens were going off. I was in a panic. I remember being so scared and putting my jeans on backwards and being upset that I couldn't get them to snap. Once my grandmama helped me to get them on correctly she told me that the rest of the family was already in the truck waiting for us to drive to the next farm where the tornado cellar was. It was pouring down rain and super windy and of course it was the middle of the night. Once we got to the neighbors farm I continued to panic. Instead of getting out of the truck and following my grandmama and my uncle to the cellar like any child with half a brain would do I took off running in the complete opposite direction. Trying to hide from the tornado, I guess. My poor uncle was sent out to chase me down and get me back with the rest of the family. He finally succeeded and I remember climbing down into the ground and seeing all these faces that I didn't know. I just crawled into grandmama's lap and waited to be swept away by the tornado. The tornado passed us by that night and didn't damage any of the homes of the people who were in the cellar that night. But that night has stayed in my memory.

Now as an adult I wonder what the heck was I thinking? And I pity my poor grandmother who had my brother and me for a week of vacation that included the tornado. Granted my brother didn't cause a scene during the storm but still she was responsible for us. And naturally I cringe every time I think of my poor Uncle Bobby having to chase his runaway niece in the rain. He put up with so much from me that I'm sure he would have loved to have me swept away, but his patience with me was unbelievable.

Lately our area seems to be having it's fair share of tornado's. This time it's my children who are asking me tons of questions about what to do in if a tornado hits our house. My youngest son is extremely concerned about the weather and ask me on a daily basis if there will be tornado's today. And while I try to reassure him it will be okay I know how scary it is to him. All I can hope for is that if we do have to seek shelter some day that my kids will be more prepared to deal with it then I was. And if they are scared senseless like their mom was as a child then I hope I have half the patience that my grandmother and Uncle showed me that night.