What's Yours?

Heights? Snakes? Small spaces? Everyone has one. Mine just so happens to be something that is out of my control.  And today, I came as close to it as I ever hope to be. Call me Dorothy. Yes, sparkle shoes.  I have (and have had since I was tiny) a huge fear of severe storms/tornadoes.  I know-I even feel weird typing it.  Some people fear that they will die in a car wreck. Some fear they will drown. Me? I see myself going up like the evil old lady on the bike with Toto in her basket.  Maybe I just watched the movie way too many times, but every time the sky goes gray, my nerves go crazy. 
They were forecasting 'severe' weather for our area for a few days. I strategically planned our playdate at a friend's house today who has an amazing basement full of cable, bathroom facilities, and lots of entertainment for the kids=thinking ahead.  I didn't put the girls down for naps today in fear that I would have to tear them out of bed and drag them to the basement. I had them watch a movie on the computer while I was glued to the TV/Weather channel all afternoon/evening.  I was clearly out of my mind. 
The tornado sirens went off at 4:30pm...to the basement we went.  Phone, bottles of water, food, candles, flashlights, blankets, baby dolls, and this time, even mementos tucked into my pocket...I was prepared for the worst as I listened to the newscasters declare this was the worst they had seen in over 20 years...

This is not my idea of big fun on a Friday night, but this is where we were for a majority of the evening.  Luckily though, all of your prayers worked, because we were spared...only by a few miles, but most importantly, we are safe.  I will tell you that I was terrified.  More so than I think ever have been before. And I think TOH was actually a little spooked by this one too as he warned me numerous times to stay downstairs and to stop coming up to check the TV.  There was something in his voice that made me know this time was different. Maybe it was the fact that the reporters on TV were saying there was flying debris falling from the sky in our county and people were finding stuff from the state of Indiana in their front yards...

All I know is that I am a girl who was raised in Pennsylvania where there were only 2 tornadoes on record in my 22 years of living there...we've only been here for 4 years and I have been in my basement at least 22 times...and for someone who is beyond scared of this crazy force of nature, that is way more than enough...I would say this is definitely a sign that we need to relocate, right?