There's No Place Like Home, Click 3 Times

When I think of tornadoes, I think of the Wizard of Oz. I am a Floridan, there is no worry about tornadoes. Well, that ended a couple of years ago when my husband and I moved to Georgia.

I remember moving here and my dad who works in Atlanta on occasion said, there are tornadoes in GA. Of course, I think I will never need to worry about that and casually say- don’t worry, we have a basement to hide in.

Last week, I was upstairs playing with my son. I had just finished working for the day. I thought I heard a fire truck. Not a big deal but the odd thing was that the sirens did not stop. I wondered if the vehicle was in our neighborhood. Five minutes later, my husband yells out- the tornado sirens are on.

I scoped up Eli and brought him down to the basement and turned on the news in the one room in the basement which is finished- our gym. I turned on the space heater and waited for my husband to come downstairs. A couple minutes later I ran back upstairs to find Lowell on a work call. I thought it was pretty silly for him to be on the phone when the tornado sirens were blaring.

The news said there was potential for tornadoes in the area and the warning was for the next 30 minutes. Fifteen minutes later, Lowell comes down to join us in the basement. (sirens are still going) Finally, fifteen minutes later, the sirens stop and tornado warning is lifted and luckily everything was fine.

Being from Florida, I am not afraid of hurricanes. You get enough warning to evacuate and keep yourself safe but there is limited (30 min) warning with tornadoes. I find this scarier in nature but very happy we bought a house with a basement. It is at least a little safer.