Threat of Tornadic Activity - Always a Thrill (No Joke) at 3:00 in the Morning
Monday, January 2, 2005
[11:22am] Collette was full of joy that strange gray morning – how anti-thankful she had been for God’s grace and mercy, for His salvation of her, and all the beautiful blessings through trial and discipline and good things and hard things, by which He had blessed her. It was an amazing life and Truth with in she had been placed, and she was so often so very ungrateful.
And it was at 2:41 that morning that she had received a phone call from Mom. Upon hearing it ring, she could not find it in the dark the first time, to answer. But Mom quickly called back again, Collette fearing that Carrie-Bri might have been in an accident on the way home from work. But Mom had called because of tornado warnings in the area – unstable atmosphere had caused the unusual (but not unheard of) tornadic activity. And after waiting up and around with the television on for an hour, opening the balcony door to the balmy lightening-lit skies, and humming about, they crawled back into bed for a short spell until the tornado sirens began screaming. As it turned out, Denae was up at home listening to the weather herself, and so OLeif and Collette drove over in the strangely warm but cool air and joined the boys in the basement for some more hours of sleep. The lightening continued to flash and the thunder came later with a crashing storm of hail, which seemed very loud for being in the basement. But when morning had come, little traces remained of the inclement weather, and after Izzy had fixed them both a waffle apiece, they were on their way back home. Thankfully, OLeif had the day off from work (as did most people).
And Sunday evening had been spent (following a nap at the apartment for OLeif) at Mom’s and Dad’s while the guys watched “Die Hard 2,” the girls watched “National Velvet” with Frances, and Carrie-Bri was off to work. Sleepy day.
Meanwhile, Carrie-Bri was dismayed that morning to find that she did not, in actuality, receive a week’s break between semesters. And so she began her fifth full semester that morning. In addition, she had applied for her visa for Egypt and had found a school in New York for her M.A. (one of the few universities offering a program in her desired field), which included (over the sixteen expensive months), ten days work in Israel.
[18:55pm] After picking up two gallons of water, a gallon of milk, and a box of white Christmas lights and a box of purple Christmas lights at Target, OLeif and Collette discussed ideas over burgers at Red Robin (from a Christmas gift card). OLeif had just received a burned copy of Derek Webb’s “Mockingbird” CD from Molly, and their minds were on thoughts of the Great Commission and how it could be carried out in Saint Louis, in the wealthy suburbs. OLeif had always been blessed with a sagely wisdom, and Collette heard it daily as they talked.
Collette rubbed her fingers across the smooth red wood of their booth table, and watched the rain hit the little latticed metal tables on the deck outside the restaurant. When the drops struck the top, several rested between the lattices, creating little suspended pools.
They continued to talk over a good many things surrounding the same idea, under the emerald green circle of green glass which hung above their heads beneath a light bulb, serving as a lamp. A sparkling soda “winkled” in a thick glass at her elbow, and she enjoyed just sitting there, listening to OLeif’s thoughts.