An Eventful Birthday.

I woke up Friday morning, on Gracie's 3rd birthday, with this idea in my head of how the day would go, how we'd fill the day with fun and make sure the birthday girl was spoiled appropriately. The funny thing about ideas is that they aren't always realized, not when there are other plans in place.

The morning started off just as planned. Gracie was up at 6am. She climbed right up on my side of the bed, fairy wings already on, crown in hand. You don't have to tell this girl it's her special day twice. After some early morning snuggle time, there was breakfast, then books that needed to be read and games to be played. Soon enough, it was time for lunch. We picked Sean up from work and headed to one of our favorite lunch spots downtown. After a yummy birthday lunch, Gracie and I discussed whether she'd prefer to stop off at the store to pick up her special cake and balloon before heading home or wait until after her nap. I was surprised that she chose to go home first. It was around 1:30.

Once we arrived home, I laid an exhausted three-year-old down for her nap and planned to take that time to get a few things finished around the house. I was barely out of her room when I heard the thunder. It was nothing more than a low rumble and my thought was that Gracie would more than likely sleep soundly through a brief afternoon storm. Wrong.

Within minutes, the sky was completely darkened. What once seemed like an innocent storm now appeared to be something much different and lurking right above us. I peeked in on Gracie, who had never had the chance to fall asleep and asked her to come rest with me. I didn't want her alone, or near the windows, just in case. Once I had her in my arms, the storm seemed to be raging right over our house. And once I looked outside, I felt strongly that this was not just some afternoon thunderstorm. It frightened me enough that I went straight to our coat closet. Bentley, who is terrified of even a heavy rain, didn't hesitate to join us. There we were, me with my pregnant belly, Bentley shaking in fear, and my three-year-old birthday girl, all piled together in a tiny closet. I called Sean and asked him to check the weather and let me know if we were expecting anything severe. This storm had come on so quickly and by the time I hung up with him, I could hear the thunder moving on and the rain lightening. I bet we weren't even in the closet 5 minutes. It was around 2:00.

My concern was that our small potted plants in the backyard had been blown away or that our outdoor furniture had been flipped about in the yard. Even the tiniest potted plant (in a plastic pot) was sitting just as it had been. Gracie then ran to the front door to check on the front yard and we were both completely shocked to find that our doorway was blocked by what was once a beautiful (and large) Bradford pear tree. "We are trapped!", Gracie yelled. She had a good point because not only was the tree laying at our front door, but it was also blocking part of the driveway and laying against the garage door. The storm had taken down our largest tree. 

I didn't know it at the time, but our tree was not the only one to fall in our neighborhood. I couldn't believe how many large, sturdy trees had been taken down just on our street, not to mention the surrounding streets of our town. Luckily for all of us, this is nothing compared to the damage and loss many are facing at this very moment because of tornados and other strong storms. I've seen so many upsetting pictures and heard many stories of homes and loved ones lost. The sight of my favorite share-providing tree in pieces brought me to tears, so I cannot begin to imagine how devastating and terrifying it would be to face severe damage, or an actual tornado. 

Still, there were many concerned neighbors who stopped by to survey the damage and check in on Gracie and me. We were also blessed to have so many helping hands pitch in that afternoon to get the hundreds of limbs and other large pieces of broken tree moved from the doorway and garage.

Needless to say, the afternoon did not go as I had envisioned, but for whatever reason, it was all part of the plan. I'm just thankful the only casualties in our area were trees, and that there seems to have been only minimal damage to homes and vehicles. I've felt so uneasy about storms after watching all of the tornado footage. I'm glad that I went with my gut feeling and took Gracie somewhere safe. This is the first time in her life that I've ever felt the need to do that and the first time in probably 20 years that I've found myself seeking safety in a closet.