Whimsical September

A Family + Lifestyle Blog

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They survived a tornado.

 
It’s a beautiful sunny day here in Clarksville, Tennessee. I am surrounded by my parents, sister, grandma, and all four dogs in my home, and there is really nothing more that I could ask for (except maybe for my husband and brother to be here as well). Life is good. 
 
But not for everyone.
 
 
 
This morning there are undoubtably parents and siblings who cannot find the strength to get out of bed because their son or daughter, a University of Alabama student, was taken from them by the horrendous monster who swept through Tuscaloosa, Alabama in the form of an EF-4 tornado. I have heard the number of deceased students is 17. This figure alone makes me absolutely sick. Beyond words.
 
This morning there are thousands of people across the state who are waking up homeless for the third morning in a row, if they’ve even slept at all since the storm. There homes were leveled, and they’ve walked away with nothing.
 
This morning there are thousands and thousands who are going on day four without power. [As I typed the previous sentence, my sister yelled from the other room that her mother-in-law just called and said Madison wouldn’t have power until Tuesday or Wednesday. That means no work for me. As a teacher, that is NOT okay. We are TRYING to finish our school year.] No power means that there is no gas, hot showers, working stoplights and frozen/refrigerated food. It’s such a mess.
 
My parent’s home is one without power, and that’s why we all escaped to Jamie and my’s home until the power came back. Life is so normal here, but I just want to look at people and say “Do you have any idea what happened in Alabama this week?”
 
Rewinding a bit, I spent Monday through Thursday with my co-workers in New Orleans for the National Catholic Educators Association annual conference. In a nutshell, it was awesome. 
Until Wednesday. I was miserable for most of the morning knowing that tornado rounds one and two were passing through Madison. I was scared to death, calling my mom every hour (okay, twice as hour) getting an update. I got back to my hotel room around 4:30 and turned on The Weather Channel immediately. They quickly began mentioning Tuscaloosa, home of my alma mater The University of Alabama, and that a fierce tornado was headed that way. I called my sister, and she had received word of the tornado and was headed to take cover in a friend’s bathtub. Within minutes the weathermen were announcing that the campus was about to take a massive hit by this massive tornado. I began praying as I’m sure thousands and thousands of people were praying with me across the country for their family members that were about to get “hit”. 
 
I was so worried for my sister. For Ashley. Emily. Bethy. Brittany. Brendon. Mallory. Countless other sorority sisters, classmates, and friends. For Denny Chimes. The President’s Mansion. AOII and sorority row. My town.
 
And it got hit. SLAMMED.
 
Campus miraculously did NOT get hit, but the surrounding areas are devastated. I have not seen the destruction first hand, but I’ve driven myself crazy watching every video and looking at every picture, though I’ve heard these pictures and videos do no justice. I’ve most often heard it described as a bomb that went off. It’s hard to watch the videos knowing that people are dying in them.
 
It is so evident that God had His hands on everything, despite the loss of lives and businesses. Four major apartment complexes that house THOUSANDS of students (University Village, University Downs, Crimson Place, and Midtown Village) were on the immediate outskirts of being completely LEVELED. Obviously all four complexes have damage, but to my understanding no one was killed while taking cover in these complexes. If you understand the path the tornado took and know where these complexes are, you surely understand the sheer miracle of it all. Praise God.
 
 
 
After it was over, I called Jennifer and heard her say “hello”. That was all I needed to calm my pounding heart. By her answering the phone, I knew she was okay. My heart breaks in a million pieces as I think about all of the family and friends who called for hours hoping to hear that “hello”, and never did. Instead, they are planning funerals. Oh, it physically hurts my heart so much to think about. It could have been anybody, and that’s petrifying.
My heart began pounding again as the tornado headed for Birmingham where my brother attends Birmingham Southern College. After learning the path of the tornado, I knew he was going to be okay. I could breathe again.
 
Some co-workers and I celebrated a friend’s birthday with a dinner that Wednesday night, and we had a good time, but I felt like my mind was on another planet the whole time. I was wrestling (and still am) with whether my heart is more thankful that my family and friends are safe and sound, or whether I am heartbroken over what happened to the city and state as a whole that I love. I think I’m both thankful beyond words and heartbroken beyond comprehension. What a rollercoaster.
My mom’s boss lost her step-daughter, the daughter of Shannon Brown, Bob Jones former football coach. I met his daughter Loryn my freshman year at Alabama when she rode on AOII’s homecoming float. Sweet and beautiful girl. When I found out her passing, I just cried and cried because everything got even more real and heartbreaking. I hurt so much for Coach Brown.

 

The saddest part – this, like all major catastrophes, will be quickly forgotten. The Japanese tsunami and earthquake was only six weeks ago, but I shamefully admit that I’ve forgotten about those people who surely either lost their life or a loved one, home, or business. But I will never forget what happened in Tuscaloosa. Students should never have their lives taken from them but taking shelter in their home away from home. I will recognize more seriously the natural disasters that effect others across the country/world from now on.

 

Though businesses along 15th street and McFarland can and will be rebuilt, I wonder about their employees would will no longer be able to pay their bills without their hourly income. We all felt heartbroken my sister received a phone call from Burch and Hatfield in Tuscaloosa. Their business was destroyed and they were calling everyone who has placed an order with them in the last year. We got our bridesmaids dresses from them and have already received them, but they still needed to call.
This heck of a storm ruined many exciting plans for my sister. Her bachelorette party, which included nine of her greatest friends, a big dinner, lingerie shower, and a limousine, was cancelled and will be reschedule for two days before her wedding. Not an ideal time, but it’ll be fun.  She was supposed to have a couples wedding shower tonight in Huntsville. Well, Huntsville is still without power, so obviously that shower has been postponed/cancelled. The biggest change… her graduation ceremony has been cancelled. She’ll walk in August, but it’s not the same. She won’t get that “celebrate with all of my friends because we’re graduating” week of fun, she won’t take the pictures she planned with her friends in their caps and gowns, and the family is trying to figure out how to celebrate.
I heard a scenario once that goes like this: If everyone threw their problems into one big pile and had to pick a problem back out, you’d pick your own when compared to what others are facing.
This is absolutely the case for my family and me today.
Of this I am confident – The strong city of Tuscaloosa will use this opportunity to rebuild an incredible, big, beautiful place to live, learn, and enjoy.
 
There are a number of ways you can help the thousands of victims across the southeast. Here are a few:
 
The American Red Cross is providing relief to people across the hardest-hit states, providing shelter and relief to survivors. You can make a donation to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief online. You can also call 1-800-Red-Cross or text “REDCROSS” to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services is mobilizing feeding units and providing support to the victims. You can donate to the Salvation Army’s Tornado Disaster Response on their website. Be sure to designate “April 2011 Tornado Outbreak” for your donation. You can also call 1-800-Sal-Army and donors can text “give” to 80888 to make a $10 donation. 
Another option is the Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund in Alabama. The fund is part of the alabama Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. It provides additional recovery assistance to Alabama residents who have exhausted all other coverage provided by relief organizations, government programs and insurance.
The best thing you can do is PRAY. We often get so caught up in the NUMBERS of people are died, but every single one of those people has a family living their worst nightmare.
 
Cities to pray for especially: Tuscaloosa, Harvest, Pleasant Grove, Pratt City, and Cullman.
 
Be thankful, truly thankful, today and every day for what you have. Figuratively speaking, I have been slammed with the reality that life can and will change so fast. Remember what’s important and keep priorities. Help others in every way possible.
 
That’s what life is all about. Amen.
 
 
Please watch the following video.

 

 

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