Anniversary approaching

Our town is hosting several events to mark the one year anniversary of the tornado. An obstacle course will be held as a metaphor to note all the obstacles we've overcome in the last year. Church services, prayer breakfasts, a craft show and a community walk will take place. Small groups will gather at home and social media groups are already chatting. The anticipation of the anniversary is palpable. Helicopters fly over our community every day to gather the latest footage of recovery. Radio and television stations are promoting their feature stories and have been for days. Newspapers publish articles. It's all the talk online. The media in every form buzzing around the city takes us all back to that day. I don't recall hearing the helicopters whirling overhead the day of the tornado but others in town do. Many have said that sound stirs up their emotions much like the tornado siren tests, wind, fire alarms and rescue vehicles does for me. The thought of the media in relation to the tornado takes me back the evening of the tornado. That days seemed like several long days strung together with no break for meals or night time. Surely that day was more than twenty four hours. D and I and our parents worked super hard all day to get the boys to safety and to button up our house that we hadn't looked passed our property. When we emerged from the rubble and made our way to the outskirts of town we saw countless media vehicles. Due to curfew and darkness we were on our way our way out of town. Media from all over the state had their vehicles parked on the edge of the interstate. With their tripods set up and their flood lamps on, a row of reporters situated themselves in the ditch with the devastation in the background. That was when it hit me that this was bad….

I can't possibly sum up all my thoughts in a couple of paragraphs, so I will share them in a handful of posts.