I just saw the news from Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Tornado. Debris. Injuries.
Prayers.
As I watched footage tonight, that familiar springtime pit in my stomach started to grow. I love spring and a good rainstorm, but tornados....it's a different story.
My family lost their home in the Joplin, MO, 2011 tornado. Although I lived 8 hours away at the time and my family was fine, I wasn't. I'm not. I watched the news as I learned that my elementary school, high school, and everything within a mile radius of parents' home for 31 years was GONE. Literally gone.
I went home for Memorial Day weekend and walked streets that I couldn't recognize. I went to my neighborhood where I'd ridden bikes around the block as a child and could not find my way to my house. It was unreal.
So, tonight, my slice is a slice of my past that mixes in with my present on nights like this. As I strive to control my reactions to severe weather, I find that my eyes fill quickly with tears. I try to hide these emotions in public, but the truth is that I am petrified of it happening to anyone.
It's not the stuff you lose. It's the fight back.
I know what it feels like. I know the journey. I know what you battle with insurance companies. I know what it feels like to gather precious items scattered, knowing most of it's gone forever. I know what it looks like to see your parents' eyes become hollow and tired.
I know what those people in Jonesboro will face...added to a pandemic...and I'm just so sorry.
Spring is a little scary sometimes.
I can so sympathize with your feelings. I've never lived through a tornado, and my husband, who was from Kansas, also never saw one in the 21 years he lived there. But I've seen the news footage, and it is so devastating. I can understand how it must feel to see the physical spaces you grew up in disappear or become unrecognizable. And now those poor people in Arkansas, who as you say now have to recover from both tornado and pandemic. Let's hope the pandemic stays low in their slice of the state.
ReplyDeleteI wish your memories peace. I was a small child, a long time ago, when my grandparents town was near-leveled. It is life altering and traumatic. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI cannot even imagine losing your home, and 31 years worth of living! So, so scary!
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