A Sunday night should be full of clean babies and relaxation. This week was only one of those things. We had a busy weekend full of running around outside. Maximus was in need of a bath, badly. I was flying solo so that meant both boys were going to get a bath. I knew there were storms coming and we were under a tornado warning, but dirty boys need to be clean!
As much as Wrigley drives me crazy with his constant barking, today I am giving him a break. While Quinten was rolling around on the floor trying to eat his towel, Wrigley started barking. I read a text from Bryan that said he was on his way home. I perked up and thought I heard the tornado sirens. A quick check outside and I was right. Or, he was right. I quickly pulled Maximus out of the tub and managed to avoid more than a little whining. I told him to put his towel on because we were going downstairs. I put my phone in my pocket and quickly grabbed a diaper for Quinten along with an extra blanket before scooping him off the hallway floor. As I quickly walked to the living room to grab the Ergo, I continued to coax Maximus to come with. In my most excited voice I said, “let’s go downstairs and see what daddy did!” All while constantly telling Wrigley to stay with me. (Although I doubt he was going to go too far from me since he knew something was going on.) By the time I was back by the stairs, Maximus was rounding the corner with his towel on. At that very moment I realized how much he had grown up. He had his hood on and had wrapped his towel around his body. I reached for his hand and continued to tell him that we were going to go downstairs and see what daddy had done with the blankets. We slowly walked down the stairs and eventually made it to the area that is designated as the tornado shelter. And then we waited. It was only then that I realized that I felt panicky. Then, Maximus told me he had to go potty. (He did the potty dance for an hour.)
We sat down on the blanket and I put Quinten in the Ergo, tried to keep Wrigley next to me, and talked to Maximus. Four minutes had passed. Then Bryan sent me another text, “Almost home.” I sent one back, “I have naked boys downstairs with no leash.” I never heard the garage door and Wrigley never left the basement. Our knight in shining armor came downstairs with diapers and pjs for the boys and extra blankets! Although I could have stopped and looked at the tv or pulled up something on my phone, I didn’t. Bryan came bearing diapers and weather updates. The news mentioned that one of the nearby towns had put a rule into effect, straight winds over a specific MPH warranted a tornado siren. He assumed that’s why ours had gone off. (And then he told me he was sitting out on a deck for his meeting. Where he and another man jumped up and sprinted to their cars as soon as the sirens went off. Obviously, they had families at home.) I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that we weren’t in the path. He made another trip upstairs for the iPad and water. Mickey Mouse came on and Maximus finally sat down. Wrigley curled up under the blanket with me and Quinten rolled around on the floor. It was at that time that I finally felt like we were ok.
An hour after we went down in the basement, we finally went back upstairs to attempt a proper bedtime. The winds had died down and the ran was still coming. Thunder and lightning were filling the sky. I spent the next hour catching up with Don Draper and doing my best to forget about the evening activities.
My heart breaks for those in areas of the country that have been through this horrible trauma. I pray that shelter and safety are in abundance while they try to walk this horrific road. I’m not a fan of severe weather, I actually hate it. I hope this is not what we should expect the summer to hold. I’d rather have sunny skies and calm breezes!
