Big, Bad Wolf

To view a slide show of storm damage, click here

At approximately 3:10 a.m. this morning I awoke to the closest thing mother nature can get to a laser-light show. The wind was so forceful that it swirled my upstairs patio furniture around like the tines of a wind chime. It reminded me of that game children often play around the time they hit puberty," suck and blow", where you lace a toothpick through a lifesaver and attempt to blow it into your opponent's lips. I watched as countless dollars worth of patio furniture moved violently back and forth, just like that lifesaver, as though the wind from the east was competing against the the wind from the west.

I sat there in bed, stupidly, listening for signs of tornadic activity or sirens or really anything that would catapult me into action. You always think that you will know what to do in times like that. You don't. My husband and I just sat there in paralyzing awe of the incredible forces of nature, hoping our brick house high on the hill would be substantial enough to protect us. In retrospect, with a house that is mostly made up of large windows, we probably should have " duck and covered" downstairs in the restroom, which, aside from the "Harry Potter-style" cupboard under the stairs, is the only safe room in the house.

We have a giant Bradford Pear tree in our backyard. It is a very old and stately tree. It is so stately in fact, that we actually built our wooden deck around it. I love that giant tree. I love to imagine all of the different families that tree has shaded, how many birthday party decorations have hung from its branches, how many landmark events throughout history that tree has stood through. But it couldn't hold through this one storm? There was no sound, at least no sound that I could hear through the tempest. There was no warning. The wind blew and suddenly half of the tree just vanished from sight.

Other things flew away without the shelter of that giant tree. The wrought iron railing came unhinged from the upstairs patio, a giant ladder, chaise lounges, outdoor ottomans and the blades to an outdoor ceiling fan all lay strewn about the herb garden, at least, those that escaped the crushing blow of the fallen tree.

We ran downstairs after we saw the tree fall. It completely eclipsed the patio entrance off the kitchen. To see a tree, leaves still green and vibrant contrasted against that tangled mess of twisted metal, broken glass, wrecked furniture, a gas grill that I can barely move with all of my body strength and a giant water hose reel is simply too surreal to describe.

Inside the family room, I could feel wind blowing through the wall and water around my toes. The heavy metal pane encasing a large French-style window had been moved forward nearly two inches by the wind, allowing rain and leaves to blow freely into the room. Both Kirk and I leaning on it couldn't push this frame back in line with the wall. I have no idea how we will fix it.

They said on the news this morning that they winds reached a force of nearly 90 miles per hour. These were, for the most part, "hurricane-force" winds. They are uncertain as to whether or not any tornadic activity occurred or if it was just a "straight-line" wind. I know from my perspective that I have never experienced anything like it. The damage it did and the manner in which it did it was like a delicate ballerina performing at a Slayer concert. Chaos completely surrounding these calculated, precise arrangements of trees, cars and things.

I feel very fortunate that we didn't incur more damage to our home and that today, we still have our health and each other. My heart goes out to those of you who live in Hurst, Breckenridge, Carrollton, Allen or any of the other areas that were badly hit by this storm. Last night, Texas faced its first attack of the big, bad wolf. My hopes are that the remainder of the spring will remain "wolf-free".