About four this afternoon, an enormous storm blew through Davis county. This was a second coming type of storm, with trampolines and garbage cans flying through the neighborhood, and trees falling into power lines and blocking roads. I was at work, so I missed all of the excitement, except for what happened in my parking lot, which was mostly apocalyptic hail and rain for about six minutes. A tornado even touched down not too far from us. Houses and fences and roofs, oh my.
Audrey did not miss the excitement. She was out driving in it. She drove Will to an imaginary dentist appointment that he thought he had but that is actually not until next week. Then she drove through the driving rain and wind to get Duncan, who had to stand out in the rain and wait for her while she drove Will to the non- appointment. Then she attempted to drive back to get Will from the dentist where he was now stranded, but due to the aforementioned flying debris and power lines in the roads, all of the roads were closed, and she couldn't even get home, let alone get back to the dentist. So Will had to walk.
While Audrey and Duncan were sitting still in traffic and Will was walking in the rain, Olivia was home alone thinking that the world was ending, what with the weather and the flickering power. I was still at work, suffering through one of those odd pharmacy rushes that always seem to accompany strange weather, and we were getting slammed, and in addition to everyone in Bountiful suddenly deciding that they needed to come in for a flu shot before the tornado hit, my offspring were all simultaneously calling/texting me to fill me in on the latest developments at home, on the road, and at the dentist. I was worried about Audrey driving, having heard about all the accidents and road closures, worried about Will out walking in it, Duncan out standing in it, and worried about Olivia home alone.
Then when I heard that ALL the roads home were closed or jammed, I started thinking about just sleeping on the floor of the pharmacy for the night, since I have to be back there at 8 in the morning. That prospect held even less appeal than driving home through the mess, so I steeled myself for a long trek and set out.
The direct road to our house was a mess. It was pitch black except for all the flashing lights from emergency vehicles, so I opted for a less direct route and made it home without incident. Neighbors have missing shingles, broken fences and downed trees, but so far our place seems intact. And all my kids were here and safe, which is all that matters anyway. Dan should be home soon as well. I called Mitch to make sure he was okay, and he is without power, along with about 30,000 other homes around us, but he and Ria are home streaming Netflix on his phone, so it's all good. He lives a lot closer to where the tornado touched down, but sounds like things are settling down.
Out here on the edge, the rain has been off and on all night, but its coming down hard now. In about ten hours, we will be heading out into it again. But I'm glad for a few hours refuge in a warm bed.
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