I Guess It Will Make A Good Story to Tell My Grandkids

I used to think my life was really boring.  I'm starting to reconsider that.

Yes, I felt the earthquake a few weeks back.  No, I didn't realize what it was at first.  I was in my bedroom, getting up from my desk, when it started shaking underneath my hand.  At first I chalked it up to rickety Ikea furniture and a bus going by outside.  Then I realized there was no bus outside.  I hesitated between my chair and the bed while the house felt like it was rolling under my feet.

My next thought was, "Oh my gosh, my house is collapsing because of shoddy construction and I'm going to be on the news tonight.  Three dead in house collapse on Jersey Shore!"  (Accompanied by arial views of my house looking like a pile of matchsticks.)

I remember thinking that the shaking felt very regimented for a house that was going to collapse for no identifiable reason, which was when I finally thought "earthquake?" followed by "Nahhh" and "What the heck do I do now?"

Just as I figured the hallway might be a better place to go, it stopped.  Lowly had slept through the whole thing, and WeeBee was perfectly happy watching Oswald the Octopus.  I ran downstairs and looked out the window, but nothing seemed unusual.  Then I went back up, and went on the computer.  Nothing had made it on the news yet, but on Facebook people were already asking, "What was that?!?!"  I have to admit, it was rather reassuring to know I wasn't losing my mind.

Then, less than a week later, we get hit with Hurricane Irene.  We were actually evacuated, and fortunately were able to spend the weekend with my aunt and uncle, who live further inland.  I know people say that possessions can be replaced, but that really isn't any comfort when you're packing your kids into a car and pulling away from your house with no idea what is going to be left when you get back.  It wasn't the worst moment of my life, but it certainly makes the top ten.  I was convinced that we were going to get flooded out, and I have a serious phobia of flash floods, so that wasn't helping.

Fortunately, we were able to return that Monday.  We had a lot of branches down, and the yard was a soggy, mosquito filled mess for a week, but the house itself was fine.  I don't think we lost power for very long, but people in the towns around us were still waiting for it to come back a week later.  WeeBee and Lowly had a great time visiting my aunt and uncle, and I don't think WeeBee had any idea that anything was out of the ordinary.  I still can't believe how lucky we were.

I'm really hoping Fall is a little less exciting, though.