A Terrifying Day for Northern CO

Thursday, May 22, 2008 - a day most in Northern CO will never forget. I was working in my home office with the windows open, enjoying the cool air when my phone rings. Brother Walker calls from the church to alert me that there is a tornado that has been spotted in Mead (between Mead & Platteville) & we are to seek shelter immediately. All I could say is, "Are you serious?!" This was at about noon. The next 2 hours were so full of stress & worry.

Jim was in Denmark - a world away & not believing the seriousness of the news. I grabbed Lily, Brock & Brynne (who has been home from school with Mono & a very enlarged spleen) & headed to the basement playroom. I grabbed my laptop & cell phone & hunkered down & started calling my children's schools & neighbors. The schools (of course) assured me that all was well & they heard that the tornadoes weren't as close as we were told. As usual.... they were wrong. As I scoured the internet for current doppler photos of our area - I notice the original tornado was heading to the northeast of us & another one directly south of us, heading towards Alyssa's High School & our town.

I called the high school - who wasn't aware & asked them to alert the bus driver that was picking up the kids heading to Mead at 12:10, so that they wouldn't drop kids off in this situation. Alyssa called me from the school (unaware) shortly after, asking to be picked up after she fixed her schedule for next year... I informed her that we were currently in Tornado Warnings & couldn't leave at that moment. Shortly after, Skyline High School was put in lockdown mode & Alyssa was herded into the school's office with all the other students & staff & ordered to hunker down.

Meanwhile, I get a call from my best friend, Jenny - who saw the clouds from her deck (she lives a couple of blocks from us) & she & her husband divided to conquer. She headed to the Middle School & her husband, Lynn, to the Elementary to be with their kids. She called & asked if Lynn could grab Erika for me - I said, "Please!" As we were talking, the intercom announced lockdown & she spent the next hour & 1/2 locked in the school with the kids in the interior hallways. Lynn tried to get to Erika to check on her & have her be with him as a comfort - the school wouldn't allow him to be near her. They had told the kids that it was a "drill" - which I feel was absolutely wrong - & moved them into the inner classrooms. I want my kids to have the truth - so that they have the option of praying. Brynne, Brock, Lily & I prayed over & over together as we huddled in the basement- that brought some much needed peace.

I felt so terrified not having all my children with me during this emergency. Having Jim so far away was unnerving - but, not having my children tucked under my motherly wings is what really shook me to the core. All I could do was pray, shake & quietly sob. The sky above us was dark teal green & terribly monstrous looking. My sister, Teresa, & I stayed on the phone to keep each other calm & comparing news reports & satellite / doppler pictures on our computers - her tornado alarm in her town blared in the background during two of our conversations. I wish Mead had those alarms.....

By 2:05pm, I recieved a call from Alyssa saying that they had lifted the lockdown & please come & get her. I grabbed her from Longmont & ran back to Mead to pick up Erika as soon as the lockdown was released on the Mead schools. I took alot of crap from school staff for picking up my child. I am irritated that they felt that they had the right to even question my decision as a mother. They are getting very blurred on the line of where my line as a parent "ends" & theirs begins.... the parental line DOESN'T end - it will always supercede the school.

None of us expected the devastation that we saw unfold on the news circuit for the rest of the afternoon & evening as the damage has been surveyed & assessed.... we remained under Tornado Watch until 8pm last night. Erika came in my room while I was watching the non-stop coverage, she grabbed me around my waist & buried her head in my chest & started to cry. "Mom, I didn't know it was this bad! I didn't know it was this bad! I wish that Mrs. Brodt (the Principal) would have told us the truth!" Me too, me too...

Platteville - a town that is 7-8 minutes from my door on Hwy 66 was heavily hit. It was where the first & largest tornado started. This is the same tornado that expanded to nearly a mile wide & devastated Windsor, CO. Windsor is about 15-20 minutes from our door. We have a few friends there that we are waiting to hear from.

When all was said & done... we had 8 tornadoes touch down all around us yesterday. What a blessing from our Father in Heaven that with such little notice, so many reacted so quickly. So many lives spared & such tender mercies given to all that live in this area. It was reported by the news last night that there were 3 deaths - this morning, they are reporting only 1.

It was hard to sleep last night, so full of anxiety & concern. So hard to let go of my children this morning. Time to get back to "normal" & move ahead. How grateful I am for our church's organization & the priesthood calling tree. I wouldn't have known of the impending dangers without it. And I promise you - because we had adequate food & water storage - the concerns of "what if" never entered my mind.

The only true worries I had were, 1. Getting to my children 2. Should I open my garage so I can get my car out IF anything happens? 3. Oh crap, I should keep a can opener with my food storage - just in case I ever need it! :)