Breathtaking

On the one year anniversary of the hail storm that left the pock marked complexion of my Hero’s poor car, another severe storm system rolled through our area and left destruction in its path. Some of the suburbs in Oklahoma City were destroyed by fires, and four tornadoes touched down in our area. One mile wide twister leveled a town called Mena, which is about an hour south of where we live.

In our area the sirens were blaring and we (of course like idiots) were on the front porch with our noses to the sky in awe of wind and buckets of rain. Within minutes the storm had passed and the sky turned a brilliant orange! Then my Hero sighed and said “Oh, it’s the sunset!” I ran for the camera.

Knowing that somewhere there was sadness, this is the joy. It was breathtaking. And seconds after that we learned of the loss of an entire town…

Below is a slide show from the town of Mena:
http://www.4029tv.com/slideshow/15841393/detail.html

Home for the Holiday!

I got to be home for St. Patrick's Day this year! I count that a blessing because St. Patrick's Day is a lot like Thanksgiving at my dad's house! Each year he cooks a huge Corned Beef or two, a few heads of Cabbage and bakes his famous Soda Bread! My whole family gets together and listens to Irish Folk Music and settles in for some of the best eats in town! No one dares show up without the necessary amount of green on.
This year he and my step mom made a trip to Ireland to see where his father had been born and raised. They wanted to get the real experience of the country, so they stayed in Bed and Breakfasts. Dad said that his 6 foot 3 inch frame didn't fit into some of the rooms! After about three weeks of it, he couldn't take it anymore and the last few nights they stayed in a hotel.
He told me that the roads were so narrow that sometimes they had to back up to let the on coming traffic pass! And the hedges on the sides of the roads often had rock walls right behind them. He said that his rental car was all scratched up from the branches hitting the sides of the car!
On the menu in most restaurants was fish. Dad said that his fish and chips was pretty different since the skin and bones had not been removed.
They showed us the beautiful pictures that they had taken and dad said that Ireland draws you there. He can't wait to get back there! It must be as magic as they say!
I just know that for me it was wonderful to be home for the holiday this year!!

I'm numb....

There are three of us girls in my department at work. Each of us had a loved one who was either terminally ill or in a nursing home dealing with old age.

At the beginning of March as most of you know, I lost my hero, my Grandpa. I rushed to Utah to be with my family and speak at the funeral (as I promised him that I would). I cannot express how tough this trip was for me.

The week that I returned to Arkansas, my office mate and friend lost her Granny. She was incredibly close to her. They were joking with each other a few nights before and knowing that the end was near was difficult for my friend to bear. Last Thursday she was just heartbroken.

Just four days after my friend lost her Granny, on Monday, our beloved co-worker and friend to everyone, Marilyn, passed away from cancer. Marilyn was my boss’s best friend. We knew that she was sick and she accepted her fate better than all of us could. Even knowing that time was short, we still had a hard time accepting.

Then, at lunch time today, my boss’s mother, who is sick with cancer lost her fight too! The bittersweet comments, they’re out of their pain and no longer suffering, they are with other loved ones and with God now….still hurts.

I’m numb. Loss and hurt is all around me. Every time I turn around, I feel like I’m buying a sympathy card or sending flowers or consoling a devastated friend. I wonder if this is what a disaster feels like…