Written by Rowonna McNeely – Friday night in the McNeely house started out as a relaxing evening. We ate dinner and played a couple of board games with Kiera. While playing games in the living room, Aaron switched the channel over so we could keep an eye on the weather.
As the evening progressed the weather became more active as did the alerts. Just as we were winding up a board game, a news alert came on. We all heard the word tornado. My little girl, who has learned to read so well, looked to the radar and said, “Brownwood! We are almost in the red!!”
Aaron quickly assured her that we were safe and if we needed to take cover, we would. We quickly finished our game and I went in search of flashlights, pillows, and blankets to place in our bathroom.
“I’m going to look outside.” Aaron stated as he got up off the floor. Kiera and I followed him to the back door.
Knowing that the storm was still a ways away from us, I turned to Kiera and said, “Baby, I’m going to go out with Daddy for a minute. Ok?”
She agreed and stood in the doorway as Aaron, Sloane (our dog) and I stood on the porch. Ziggy, our other dog, stayed in the house, due to his fear of storms. We studied the clouds for a moment before deciding to put our outdoor umbrellas down. As Aaron and I begin to storm proof the back yard, Kiera’s anxiety rose.
“Sloane!” She yelled as our black dog followed Aaron around the yard. “Sloane! Come in the house!”
“Honey. It’s ok. Sloane will come in with us. It’s ok.” Aaron assured her as he moved a chair.
“No! It’s not ok! I have memories!!” She exclaimed in an upset tone.
I finished putting the umbrella down while wondering where she was going with the memories topic.
Before either of us could form the question, she continued on. “If a tornado comes, Sloane is going to get sucked into the tornado and then all I will have are memories!”
Yes, we are pretty sure she will be involved in the theater.
“Honey. I know you are scared but it’s going to be ok,” Aaron said as he looked at me with the dear-heavens-how-did-we-get-such-a-dramatic-child look.
I shrugged my shoulders in response as we moved back into the house. Walking back into the living room, the weatherman continued on about the possible tornado heading towards Brownwood.
Trying to calm Kiera, Aaron said, “Why don’t you go get Quack-Quack and your soft Troll blanket?”
She hastily walked to her bedroom but within a few seconds let out a wail. I swiftly made my way into her room.
“What baby? What’s wrong?” I asked, gathering her close as tears slid down her cheeks.
She pulled back slightly and I took note of what she held in her arms. Both Quack-Quacks, her Troll blanket and Troll pillow were being squished all together as she held on for dear life. “Rosie!” She wailed. “I can’t find Rosie!!”
I hugged her again and ushered her to Daddy while I assured her that I would find Rosie, the stuffed dog. After a quick search, I located Rosie and handed her off to Kiera who still clutched all her items.
Aaron and I shared another look as Kiera focused on every word coming out of the weatherman’s mouth. “Hey, sweetie,” I said trying to get her attention. “How about you and I get the bathroom ready for us to sit in?”
“Grab the iPad and let her watch a movie,” Aaron suggested as we moved past him.
I picked up the dog beds and placed them in the bathroom floor, making a soft place to set. I quickly tossed a beach towel over the toilet lid and shoved a few pillows down by the side of the tub. I then tossed in a thick king size comforter in for good measure.
Kiera set herself up with a movie and placed the Quacks and Rosie beside her while she sipped a glass of milk. Once I ensured that she was content and settled, I went to check on Aaron and listen to the weather.
I asked Aaron to locate our cat, Gracie, just in case we all had to pile in the bathroom quickly. He found her and handed her off to me. He went to go back outside to check the clouds while I hovered in the bathroom doorway, holding Gracie.
Ziggy, once he felt certain that he was not going in the bathroom to get a bath, settled on the dog bed beside Kiera. After a few minutes, I finally gave up on hovering and moved to settle on the toilet seat lid. Aaron came from time to time update us on the clouds and see how we were doing.
Amazingly enough…I did not realize until that moment that our bathroom does not have an a/c vent. On a normal day this is not a problem. But, when you are stuffed in a 40 sq ft bathroom with a thick king sized comforter piled beside you, holding a 10 pound hairy cat, not to mention the addition of a 70 lb dog, child, pillows, a Troll blanket, two Quack-Quacks and Rosie the stuffed dog, you suddenly realize how amazing an a/c vent would be.
Thankfully, the tornado passed over Brownwood and we were free to pile out of the bathroom. I wiped the trails of sweat off my face and neck after putting Gracie on the floor, saying a quick prayer of thanks that we were safe.
It was by far not a normal Friday night, but at least we spent it together.
Thank you for sharing in our weekly journeys. If you have missed any of our past stories, check out our new blog page at www.lifea2k.net or drop us a line at lifea2k@yahoo.com.
Rowonna McNeely
Graphic Designer - Mommy to Kiera
Rowonna McNeely works with her husband, Aaron, at Willie’s T’s in the Art Department, regularly volunteers in the community, and has her hands full with her daughter, Kiera, along with two dogs and one cat.
Rowonna is a graduate of May High School (Go Tigers!) and grew up on a dairy farm. She enjoys reading, creating, swimming, and planning events. She’s also a bit of a klutz.
