***
The thunder cracked and boomed overhead, making the walls
shake and the pictures rattle. My sons jumped, eyes wide, and ran to the
window. The rain was coming down hard, in heavy sheets, and the lightning lit
up the trees that were otherwise hidden in the dark night. Wind pushed hard
against our house and in the distance, we could hear the sirens. We grabbed
flashlights and our blankets and headed for the basement, where we would listen
and wait and pray until the worst was over and calm returned. When it became
quiet again, we would peer out the windows, trying to assess the damage in the
murky moonlight. But we wouldn’t fully know until morning just how much
recovery work would lie ahead. Would we only have a few twigs and branches to
pick up? Or would we find our fence crushed beneath fallen trees, or our
driveway blocked and impassable? {Read more...}