and i'm just getting around to writing about it, so get over it. i'm a'livin' in the past, ya'll. i don't know what my problem is lately, but this whole computer thing is boring me. not only that, but we are swiftly heading in to schools-out-mode, which means more and more time will be spent outside, far, far away from my 'puter. i'm a bad blogger-mommy...which is unfortunate because i'm not getting any younger and my memory could fail me at any moment. i NEED to get this stuff on paper.
so. we travelled up north for easter, as per usual. and, as per usual, we encountered some form - or forms - of mother nature's wrath on our way.
the day began beautifully, bright and sunny with those texas wildflowers dotting the roadways in all their polychromatic glory. but the wind. the wind was blowing. and i mean blowing. and texas/oklahoma are in a drought. and guess what? wind + drough +hot = FIRE. not too long after we passed through Oklahoma City we saw some smoke off to our northwest. oh, i thought to myself, looks like there's a fire over there...and then a few miles later i could see flashing lights out in the field and i thought, uh-oh, that can't be good...and then smoke began to form a hazy fog across the plains and over the roadway and we could smell the fire and i started getting a little nervous like maybe this fire was a little too close for comfort.
right about the time i had that thought, smoke engulfed us and i could no longer see out my windshield. terrified, i slowed down and out of the smoke appeared a state trooper who had stopped on the side of the interstate and was waving for people to slow down. i was trying to decide whether to get off at the random exit, or continue on the interstate and see what happened. a semi forged on so i decided to follow him. i gunned it as fast as i could and drove blindly through some seriously thick smoke for about 50 yards, at which point the smoke wasn't quite as heavy but now i could see enough to see the flames - the flames - had not only reached the interstate but had now jumped the south-bound side and were in the median. with the wind gusting from the west, those flames were actually blowing in front of my truck. as in, TOUCHING MY TRUCK. as in, i'm having a panic attack. as in, my brain had already begun processing how me and my two babies were going to burn alive in our truck in the middle of nowhere, Oklahoma. we all know i have a tendency for the dramatic...oh, but annie made me feel so much better as we pulled through the worst of the smoke she looked up briefly from her dvd and said, "i think somebody's trying to cook something". to which i said, "honey we just drove through a wildfire!" to which she responded, giggling, "no we didn't, mommy. it's just smoke."
but alas, we passed the flames and didn't start on fire, and just as soon as it was upon us, it was behind us. the state troopers had stopped all traffic on I35 from continuing southbound, so i assumed i was one of the last drivers who was able to pass through northbound until they were able to extinguish the fire.
it was, quite honestly, the most terrified i have been to this point as a mother. it was really scary...
...until we arrived in kanasas and the thunderstorms were upon us. i don't know if you have ever experienced kansas thunderstorms, but people, they are BIG. they are big and scary and loud and often times they produce tornadoes. and tornadoes in kansas are infamous for wreaking havoc on towns and homes, farms and people. i'm a freak about tornadoes. i blame it on my older brother, who used to leave me in the shower in our basement while our parents were both at work, while he went outside to check out the funnel clouds with his friends. traumatized me for life you did, cory. wink wink.
no seriously, i love a good thunderstorm. at least i did until i moved to texas and no longer have a basement in which to seek shelter. nope. when you live here in tornado alley, you just have to hope for the best. my bro-and-sis-in-law incessantly make fun of me. every time a storm rolls in they're all "you takin' cover yet?" ok fine. i'm paranoid. but i'd rather be paranoid in the closet than upstairs surrounded by windows.
however, i digress. so we're in kansas and a kansas-sized storm is upon us. wind. lightning. like, gigantic, THICK BOLTS of killer lightning. and yes it was so cool. and yes it was so beautiful. but i was also alone with my two babes and i swear my hair was standing up the lightning was that close. then the rain. the torrential, blinding rain. and now hail. great. a hail storm in the middle of the prairie and not a bridge to hide under for lord knows how many miles...finally i made it to a service plaza, called my mom and asked her what the radar looked like, at which point she said it's pretty much following you right up the interstate. so, for two hours, i drove, slowed, drove, pulled over for hail, drove again, jumped out of my skin from lightning, drove, pulled over again, etc. until we finally made it to our stopping point for the night.
day two was completely uneventful and we made it safe and sound to the farm. i'll post on easter later, as this post got entirely too long without me realizing. ta ta!
