i didn't hear a train...

I had planned to post about my Argentina trip, but had something unexpected come up.

Yesterday morning, my daughter didn't feel well and I decided to keep her home from school.  She wore her gown and cuddled under a blanket as we drove to drop L off at middle school.

Since I had just returned from out of town, we were out of coffee (horrors!) and milk.  In the car, we heard on the radio that severe storms were expected in the afternoon and evening, so I decided to swing into the Food Lion on the way home and grab those necessities.  That way we wouldn't have to go out later in the rain.

It was the perfect situation because there were no cars at the grocery store and I could park directly in front, leave C in the car, (she'll be in middle school next year, so I wasn't leaving a small child) run in, grab milk, and run out.  Everything worked as planned, except when I strolled up to the checkout, I saw it had started to rain outside.  The rain was coming down in sheets.

I was worried about C and decided to leave my things and go out and get her.  I found her completely unfazed by the rain.  As we hurried back into the store, (she in her gown and Uggs) the power went out.

Everyone stood at the giant plate glass windows watching the storm.  There were just 2-3 customers and maybe 8-10 workers.  It was obvious that this was not just your average storm, so I asked several cashiers if they had seen the Lowe's in North Carolina that had been decimated by a tornado several weeks ago.  I told them how the manager was considered a hero because he herded everyone in the back into a safe, windowless room.  Then, I asked if they had somewhere safe for us to go.  One lady replied, "If a tornado comes, you just follow me."  Hmmm...really?  We'll just wait and then run?  Half the staff was outside under the awning watching trees snapping and grocery carts flying.  The other half of the staff was yelling at them to get inside.  C and I were sharing treats from our grocery cart with a frightened 3 year old boy.

Finally, the storm passed.  I loaded up my groceries, drove around a fallen tree, and went home.  I had no idea of the destruction surrounding us.