Early Monday morning, I noticed that it was cloudy and I could hear thunder in the distance. I didn't think much of it, other than pulling the covers over my head and burrowing myself into the blankets because storms still somewhat scare me. But then I heard the wind, along with a bunch of trees shaking and a huge crash. I popped right out of bed and ran into my parents room, now believing that we were in the midst of a tornado.
It only lasted about seven minutes. It seemed minor, but did a lot of major damage. One of my neighbor's trees fell on my house, but thankfully our tree that stood over it broke the fall and held it up for a day before completely falling onto the roof.
Since we had no idea how long the power outage would last, we all spent the night at my grandparents house and took my brother to the airport the following morning (Tuesday).
It wasn't as dramatic as I thought it would be, but saying goodbye to my "little" brother was still incredibly difficult. I cried all the way out of the airport, and I got teary-eyed whenever I would see him update his statuses on Facebook. I sent him a text message saying "work hard and never give up!" before he had his phone taken away. His basic military training started at four thirty this morning (Thursday), and he is now on his way to becoming a part of the United States Air Force.
It all feels incredibly weird. I felt the same way that I did when my friend left three years ago; like a part of me has been taken away. Yes, I understand that he hasn't died. But he is no longer just a regular civilian, and he no longer lives at home. His car is still in the driveway and we will have to eventually box up his room. There are so many other things that will be different, but I don't want to type them all out.
I know it's only been two days, but I miss him already.
In other news...
We have been in a hotel since then, due to our electricity being out. It came back on last night (Wednesday night) though, so we will probably check out and go back home. I honestly don't have a clue as to what will happen as far as the trees sitting on top of our house. I keep hearing different things in terms of safety and removal. It probably won't happen until Monday. There wasn't a lot of damage done aside from a broken garage window, but there is speculation that more damage will be done in the process of getting the trees off of the house. I am surprisingly, more calm about that then I am about my brother. I want his address already so I can find out how everything is going.
In the middle of all this, I am thankful and appreciative of the following things:
- My brother and sister, even if they do annoy me to no end. I know that both of them would do just about anything for me, and vice versa.
- The fact that we did not have a lot of damage done to our home, compared to others. One neighbor down the road had nine oak trees completely uprooted, and insurance is only going to cover the one that hit his deck.
- The fact that we do have insurance.
- Being able to enjoy a nice, juicy steak, apple pie (my favorite!) and custard. Mind you, this was not all in one day
- All the men and women in the military who are serving and have served our country
- Seeing a light switch turn on
- My parents, who have made and are still making huge sacrifices in order for us kids to be where we want to be.
- The fact that my brother gets to do what he has wanted to do since he was a young boy.
- The fact that I can now focus on getting the rest of the things that I need for my apartment. And that I am moving into an apartment when I get back to school.
I am blessed. That's all I can say
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