Come out of the closet

 I’ve lived in Texas slightly over 50 years, and tonight was the first night I sat out a storm in a closet. I was propelled there by a nine-year-old who was freaking out, demanding we had to hurry. He gathered water, snacks, his blanket and pillows, his iPad, and his Rubik’s cube. “I didn’t know what you would need,” he explained.

So that’s how I spent a good part of my evening sitting in a dining chair, amidst my clothes, glass of wine on the floor, book in my lap. “Juju, you don’t have any protection.” I always thought you went to a closet or interior bathroom to escape flying glass, and I was safe from that. He explained that if a tornado came he would put his blanket over Sophie and then over his head. Protection. I wish someone had gotten a picture.

Oh yes, we took the dog with us. She was nervous but I think less from the storm than from these strange surroundings. Jacob would not let her out, though he periodically darted out of the closet to “check.” He’d come back and report that we ought to stay a few minutes longer. At one point he said to me, “I’m nervous about storms, you know.” Yes, I’ve known for years.

Tonight was neighbors night at the Grill, which is why Jacob is spending the night. But when storm predictions began to look serious he said he wanted to go but he didn’t. One neighbor, Mary, always walks and Jacob likes to walk home with her. “What if I’m walking home with Mary and it begins to lightning and hail?” I didn’t point out that Mary is too smart to do that. But we stayed home and I made BLT sandwiches. By nine, he needed SpaghettiOs.

 

Don’t get me wrong-it was a good strong storm with lots of thunder and lightning and wind, blowing heavy rain. I love a good storm and would have enjoyed watching it, but Jacob wouldn’t let me out of the closet. When we did come out the air was that funny green it gets after a storm. Now with the sun setting, it’s a pale pink and I think somewhere to the west of us there’s a pretty sunset.

Power outages all over our neighborhood, except we seem blessedly immune. Predictions were for restoration at 2:30 this morning but I just saw a message that someone’s power had come back in.

Spring in Texas is like no place else. Hope everyone else was safe and free of storm damage.