HURRICANE IRENE!
We were well prepared for this hurricane. We cleared off the deck of all furniture, brought in all of the girls' outdoor toys, stocked up on candles, batteries, and water and then waited to see if Irene was going to hit us as hard as predicted.
Our electricity went out as soon as the rain started its downpour. It was funny how differently Claire and Keira reacted to the storm. As soon as the electricity went out, Claire started talking NON-STOP. It was such an unfamiliar situation, sitting in just candlelight, that you could tell she was grasping for anything familiar and comfortable to her. "Look Mom! My dress up clothes are still here!" "Dad! My toys still work!" Poor girl had so much nervous energy she didn't know what to do with herself. Keira's reaction was exactly the opposite. Our little girl, who is usually such a chatterbox, sat silently with her big eyes taking it all in, and sucking her thumb for comfort. The scariest part of the night was the tornado warnings called for our town. We heard it over the battery operated radio along with the instructions to get into the basement of your house. We grabbed the girls, Starla, radio, cell phones, and flashlights and headed down to the basement where we sat and waited. One tornado did touch down in our town, but there were no injuries or damage to speak of. We still had the girls sleep in the hallway, which is free of all windows, just in case. Hurricane Irene cleared out by morning and thankfully left us with no flooding or damage. We were without electricity for three more days and lost all of our frozen and refrigerated food, but it was nothing in comparison to the losses felt in other parts of the state.