Growing up in Florida means having an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of tropical storms and hurricanes. My poor husband has accepted the fact that we will always have a cupboard designated for canned ravioli and potatoes and tuna that we will throw out and restock once a year.
Living near the coast, though, requires more than just some food in the pantry and a few extra candles. We bought a weather radio to keep us company just in case the power went out and we had no more batteries for the portable t.v.
And then we waited for Tropical Storm/Possibly Hurricane Fay.
I stayed awake for most of the night because my heart jumped out of my chest every time the radio siren went off. Learning about a tornado warning in Palm Beach County (across the state from me) at 2 a.m. doesn't exactly make for great sleep. But I did stay out of the tornado's way.
In all seriousness, I was petrified at the thought of a tornado. I asked everyone who called me that night to pray that we wouldn't have any tornadoes. We had a lot of wind and even more rain. And no tornadoes. That's pretty good considering the center of the storm passed by 15 miles from my home.
And now, more than a week after Fay dropped by and left, we're dealing with the flood waters. We're also back on the afternoon thunderstorm schedule, and that's certainly not helping the current situation. Flooded roads. Mutant mosquitoes. Angry washed out fire ants. Who wants to visit?
The farm fields are now beautiful lakes.
So is the road leading back to where I live in the boonies.
(And the photo at the top is our side yard during the storm Tuesday morning. It was a great first day of school!)
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