On Monday night, we had just eaten dinner, and were watching TV when I glanced outside, and noticed this sky:

It was so ominous that we paused the show to take a look (and to take pictures, of course). A few moments later, when we were back inside, our cell phones and our alarm system all started screeching at once. Tornado warning! At that second, Ali called, and yelled into her phone, “Tornado! It’s right over your house!! Turn on Channel 9!!!”

I ordered Max and Mason into the closet. And, of course, being the tragedy vulture that I am (and have always been), I didn’t bother turning on the TV. I stepped outside to see if I could see any rotation with my own eyes. I didn’t see anything out back. Richard walked out front with me and there, right above our house, the system was rotating. There was a clear gap in the clouds and it was slowly turning. Richard ran back inside to secure the boys and I called Frank, who was in his room.

Frank and I watched the rotation slowly move south, away from our house, so I was no longer afraid (it never touched down). It was heading for Sarasota Bay, and then the open gulf. And, that’s when Hell’s fury opened up. Most storms start with a sprinkle. This one started like a bucket of water being thrown sideways! BOOM!!! We were protected from the worst of the wind, blowing south, because we were standing on the covered porch. The trees were whipping like I’d never seen them before (we’ve had two tropical storms pass by here in the past three years). The torrent of water was flying sideways and we could barely see the houses across the street at times. A lawn chair fell, reminding me we hadn’t had time to secure anything. Leaves and palm branches were flying through the air. The power almost instantly went out (lines split in half down the street).

IT WAS AWESOME!!! After the rain slowed a bit, we had the most incredible lightning show! And then, we had a rainbow!

Frank and I were never frightened because we saw the rotation, and we knew it was heading away from us. Had I been at all nervous, I’d have pushed him into the closet, too. He shares my tragedy vulture gene. (Did I tell you he works at the hospital in the O.R. now? He’s studying to become a doctor and he LOVES it! Boy oh boy, does he come home with some stories!)

After the storm, Frank drove out to the beach, and took this awesome photo:

With the power out, as soon as the rain subsided, the house got very warm, very fast. Richard checked the backyard and another lawn chair had taken a dive into the canal. He saved it. There were tons of no-see-ums and mosquitoes so sitting outside wasn’t an option. We called Ali and Justin and they still had power so we drove over there, and watched a movie until a neighbor texted me that the power was back on.

What an exciting evening! Nobody got hurt, there was no major damage anywhere, and I got to enjoy watching the power of God with our son, Frank. It was an adventure I’ll never forget! It reminded me of that day last year when we saw two waterspouts in the Florida Keys. In case you missed it, you can see pictures HERE.

This week’s Masonism:

The other night, Mason was rubbing his hair. I thought maybe he had a headache so I asked, “What’s wrong, honey?”

He replied, “Nothing. I’m just petting myself.”

Angela Hoy lives on a mountain in North Georgia. She is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the President and CEO of BookLocker.com and AbuzzPress, and the author of 24 books.

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