Time Flies...

Oh My Goodness! It has been way too long since my last BLOG post! Not that I haven't considered posting a few times.
I think about it, but then life gets in the way. You know, work, no work, husbands work, husbands lack of work, INLAND HURRICANES. Just little things that life throws at us.

I prefer to post when I can be positive. I like positive. I realize that in the real world everyday can't be POSITIVE. Boy, do I realize that! If ever I doubted that, the events of May 8, 2008 along with the days leading up to that day and the weeks following that day have certainly reminded me. Inland hurricane? Who ever heard of such a thing?

First of all, in an effort to remain positive, I will say that my family, all of us, were very fortunate. None of us sustained any major structural damage to our homes. My husband and I live in a heavily wooded area and we do have many, many downed trees. We did also receive some roof damage to one of our pole barns due to a downed tree. We had no hail damage to the roof of our house and nothing fell on the house. The horse barn shows no signs of damage however one section of my fence will have to be rebuilt, again due to limbs and trees falling across it. The chicken pen is no more and we have given away our chickens, no more fresh eggs. We have loose siding on the west end of the house and the south side of the garage. Other than that and the fact that our once beautiful woods now looks like a war zone, we were really lucky.

Driving through my hometown post storm was a horrible experience. Unlike the tornado that ripped through Marion in 1982, claiming the lives of ten people, this storm was extremely wide spread. The tornado had a relatively narrow path, which at the time did not appear to be "narrow" at all. The twister however really only directly affected a few blocks. The storm that hit us on May 8th had no path or preference. While certain areas did seem to be harder hit, the damage was very wide spread. Many folks lost their homes and businesses. The loss of life was much less than the tornado of 1982, yet any loss of life is too much. No one in my hometown perished in the storm, however the nearby town of Murphysboro lost one of it's citizens.
Still, for several days I could not drive through Marion without crying. Seeing this type of change is difficult to accept, I suppose partially because it is so out of our control.

Life is trying to return to normal and soon I'm sure it will. It will be easier for some than others I'm sure. Looking out my kitchen window and seeing the huge uprooted tree as a constant reminder will be with me for some time to come. The barn roof will soon be repaired as will the fence and the siding. I'll get to bring my horses home but the chickens will not be returning. Isn't that how life is? Some things must change in order to go on, life is forever changing. Don't get to comfortable in your little niche, things can change at the drop of a hat or the puff of the wind.

Every time I think about those first few minutes following the storm, the goose bumps I felt when I looked around and saw
everything still standing (minus several trees)! WOW! Even my tipi withstood the wind. I use the word "luck" but I have to say it was not "luck", I don't really believe in luck. I believe in GOD. HE was watching over us once again!

So with that I say

THANK YOU TO MY CREATOR!