Reflections On A Busy Monday

I had a very busy day today.  Voice lesson, picking up refills at the pharmacy on base, grocery shopping, putting everything away, putting the trash out, cleaning the patio and porch furniture, watering the gardens and flowerbeds; just really busy.  But in a good way.
It occurred to me right about 3pm that almost a year ago, I was in the midst of another very busy Monday when the weather radio started going off in a big way.  I had just gotten the groceries all put away, in fact, when the tornado sirens here in Moore went off.  Away to the closet I went, with my extra pillows, all my flash drives,  all my electronic devices and my portable weather radio and good flashlight.  (First aid kit is already in there.  Had to evict the dirty clothes hamper and a bunch of my shoes, though. SOP for us in storm season.)
I was watching the feed from News 9 on my tablet, and on Twitter with a bunch of people,most of whom were wanting me to reassure them that I was all right.  It was surreal to hear that the storm was so close to my workplace and the homes of my friends, and was thankfully, NOT heading straight for our little subdivision.  Still, I knew I had likely lost a few favorite places,and I hoped and prayed I hadn't lost any friends.  (Close call, but my close friends were all ok, some of their houses weren't, but they were.)  Lost some library customers, and we lost our hospital.  It was a very scary day.
Part of what kept me sane in that closet was the "company" of concerned friends online.  Even a couple of celebrities that I had conversed with a bit tweeted that they were watching the news, and was I OK?  Was my house?  My dear friend in Australia, Fiona, was Direct Messaging me to please be safe and let her know what was happening.  I tried to send her minute by minute updates as I had information.  Soon as the all-clear sounded, I went out and looked around, and could report that we had no damage, and no debris in our yard.  The south side of town wasn't so lucky. 
It also took Matt five hours to get home from work because he was on the other side of the damage path.  He called me on my cell when he could, but he was locked down in a shelter at his workplace for most of the afternoon.
Needless to say, tomorrow is going to be a very emotional day here in Moore.  There's a remembrance ceremony and groundbreaking for the new medical center at 10 am.  Don't know if I'm going to go.  So many people's lives were turned upside down. Mine suffered only minor disruption, but I love this little city, and I love the people who live here and work here and make it a great place to be.  They hurt, I hurt.  I did what I could to help them by doing my bit to keep their library going on as usual.  I also offered any and all extra helps I could think of from sending FEMA faxes free (with boss's approval) and waiving fines when necessary, sometimes just giving them a pen because it was what they really needed right that second helped. 
It's so hard to know what to do or say sometimes, but sometimes, just being there and willing to listen, willing to help look for resources, willing to help, is enough. 
One year later, and the Warren Theatre has replaced all of its damaged neon, the hospital is a tent city, but breaking ground on a new facility tomorrow, many damaged business are rebuilt or rebuilding, many neighborhoods are still under reconstruction.  Some have moved into their rebuilt homes, others are still waiting.  Some haven't rebuilt at all.   
Whenever the weather looks iffy, people are anxious.  It'll be that way for awhile.  It was in '99 and in 2003.  We have new plans and procedures in place at the library to ensure patron and employee safety.  We have new portable weather radios in the house, and Matt has one at work.  I have a spare battery for my phone.  We still don't have a real storm shelter, but that costs more than we can afford to part with at the moment.  We need to have one Matt can get into and out of easily, and we don't really want one in the garage floor, where the gas pipes for water heater and dryer are so close, and the electrical box , and our cars are.  We shall just have to see how the next lottery for rebates goes, and how costs of an outdoor shelter go. 
This Monday was sunny, warm, and windy.  My allergies gave me a really bad time, and I didn't sit down once until time to eat dinner.  Still better than last year. 
Thanks to all my Twitter and Facebook friends for your long-distance support.  It meant a lot, it still does.  Thanks to all my fellow Moore-ons who keep on keeping on and make this little city a great place to be, in spite of the weather.