Thursday, September 18, 2008

My sister--the hurricane victim ;)

Before Ike hit Texas, I got lots of calls from concerned relatives. No, it's not coming to Dallas I would say. Remember Katrina and Gustsav, we didn't get one drop of rain. My well meaning cousin in Florida warned me Ike was different. It would still have force when it hit Dallas; I needed to be prepared to hang out in my closet with batteries and a flashlight.

I ended up giving in and buying some water and batteries. I even cleared a small area in my closet for our family of 6. I watched the news on Friday night as Ike neared the Texas coast. I started to get worried.

The next morning I went to my 7 am spin class. The sky was cloudy and there was a slight wind. Could it really hit Dallas? And then it rained. Not a downpour, not a gush. A lovely all-day gentle rain. The kind of rain that calls for a nice cup of tea and a Lifetime movie (or at the very least a Disney Channel Original movie). There was no wind, no lightning. Just the soft rain.

And the next morning the sun shone brightly. Even better, Ike left us with an amazing parting gift. A cold front that brought weather a San Diego resident would envy.

Sunday night my sister calls.

"I'm a hurricane victim, "she starts.

"What--you are in Ohio--Cleveland!"

"We've lost tree branches, Lizzy almost blew away in the wind. And we've been without power for hours."

"So you can't see the Browns game?" my priorities come through.

"No. Is it good?"

I look at the TV and notice goal posts waving and rain pouring on the field. It looked ugly (and not just the weather).

"We might not get power for days," she continues.

"That sucks," what else do you say?

And now days later, my dad in Cleveland  is cleaning the backyard filled with branches, and I am hearing about just how crappy the situation is in Ohio thanks to a hurricane, a tropical hurricane.

Oh and it's still sunny, 73, and perfect in Dallas. As much as I hate to admit it, this just might  be further proof God is in indeed a Cowboys fan (the Monday night game was perfect after all).

Please keep the residents in Texas' gulf coast in your prayers. It is still horrible and many may not come back home for a month. And if you can, click here to help. It is really a mess on the Texas coast.

12 comments:

Amanda said...

At least your sister is okay. She was very lucky that it was only the power and some tree branches that came down.
Glad you all made it through ok!
l,
Amanda x

Stephanie said...

I totally understand this.

I have sorority sisters in Columbus and Cleveland who have been off of work all week, have damage to their houses, and have had no power.

Soooo random.

Anti-Supermom said...

I loved how you describe the kind of rain that is perfect 'for tea and a Lifetime movie'. So well written!

I feel bad for all those struck be recent weather, but glad that you didn't need that extra closet space after all :)

Unknown said...

There are a couple Ohio bloggers that I follow and I couldn't believe that they lost power and had to clean up so much too! Glad your sister is fine, sorry they are having to deal with that...

Anonymous said...

I have so many family and friends in Texas.

so scary.

I pray for them daily.

Laural Out Loud said...

How crazy that Ohio got worse weather than Dallas! You just never know with the weather. Glad you didn't have to hunker down in your closet!

Anonymous said...

hey sis! that is the craziness of the hurricane... OHIO got it worse than part of the state, Texas, where the hurricane hit. we are fine now.. just without power for 24 hours and checking the food in the fridge to make sure it is OK! we are still thinking of the more serious victims in southern texas... thanks for writing about us up here!

your sister

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry to hear about your family in Ohio and I'm still amazed at the damage that was done that far away when we barely got anything.

But - your writing cracks me up and this is your 2nd post in the last couple of weeks that I've stopped and read to my hubby. He has decided we all need to get together for dinner one night :)

EatPlayLove said...

A friend of mine weathered the storm in houston, only to have her house burn down the next day. I don't know how people handle living with such potentially catastrophic unknowns!

Brian and Staci said...

I am so glad all is well with you...except for your football teams :( (BTW...it WAS a perfect Monday Football game wasn't it!!!) We had THE same weather you did...nothing but a beatiful light rain--all day--but gentle and THE perfect Saturday football weather! Sunday...the sun shone just as bright! Sorry about the weather for your sis...bummer. Praying for all the victims daily. Gotta run..I STILL have not worked out and the timer is a tickin...and I shouldn't be blogging, but I had to check in! Have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

We too thought the worst of everything was in Texas until hearing about relatives in Ohio. They had substantial damage from what sound like straight-line winds, or flat out tornadoes. One set is still without power and the other set lost their fence and parts of the house and will be cleaning up for some time to come.

It was amazing to hear all of this well after the fact. It seems lot of folks in lots of places with lots of weather-inflicted damage need lots of prayers. IOHO.

Hope everyone has a calm and balmy weekend,
tp

KC said...

I know how crazy is that.. My sister lives in the DFW area and I was calling her like your cousin called you.. and then we are the ones who ended up getting hit hard by it on Sunday.. our cabel went out for a bit just before the Browns game started.. But my grandparents who live on the other side of our town only a 5 min drive lost there power for a day, and my parents and IL's lost there power they live in the next town over.. and then I heard there were peope in the cleveland area without powers for days..
As we were driving home from church sunday night I thought we were going to be picked up and blown around things were just flying all over the place from the wind and living in the country areas we do we are driving though corn field on both sides of us(while on the main road) and we had corn stalks flying past and landing on the car.. it was crazy.