I left school shortly after hitting publish on the previous post and just as we were walking out of daycare, another mom came back in the door with her infant and 3-ish year old in tow and said “Don’t leave now! The sirens just came on!”
Those of you who know me in real life and/or who’ve been around this place long enough know that I had no idea what tornado sirens were until a tree smacked into my kitchen IN THE MIDDLE OF A TORNADO. Where was I? Why, I was happily lazing about on the bed watching TiVo’ed episodes of Law & Order
(::sidenote:: Let’s put this together here, people. I’m watching a police show in which there are sirens going off and sirens are going off outside my house in the real world. Someone, please, validate me in this and tell me that it’s PERFECTLY REASONABLE for me to have assumed that the sirens occurring OUTSIDE my house were occurring on the TV show. Please.)
The teachers were pulling the babies and toddlers and 3s and 4s into the main hallway and we were all sitting against the walls just waiting out the storm that was raging all around us.
The 3s and 4s? All a-chatter with “I need to potty! I need a snack! Where is my Mama!? He touched me! I need a book! No not that book!” etc etc etc to the point that I was quickly reassured that I’d made the right decision to teach high school instead of elementary.
Joshua? The only toddler in his class who didn’t want to sit still. (I’m somehow not surprised.) So we rocked and I sang to him and we just snuggled like it was only the two of us in that hallway. His nose all in my neck and me all content to just be his Mama. My heart feeling all full of love and my arms all full of sweaty boy.
So we’re all sitting, sitting, sitting, and getting reports that a tornado has touched down in our area and there is lighting and thunder and finally, it seemed clear enough to leave. So we left. And I was driving home hoping and praying another storm front wouldn’t push through and blow us off the road or send us over the rainbow or to wherever we might’ve ended up. (A ditch, most likely.)
We burst in the door and he shouts “ANN-NEEE!” at the dog and he’s happy to see her and she’s happy to see us and we’re sailing through our evening to-do list and the next thing I know I am happily caught up in playing trains with Joshua. He’s laughing at me and I’m laughing at him and we’re both laughing at the silly things we’re able to make the trains do as we push them around the little oval track.
I’m glad I didn’t go to the gym today. I’m glad I was thwarted by the weather. While my body needed the exercise, my soul needed something more.
A little dose of happy.
Outside the house? There’s a storm passing by us. Lightning is flashing, the wind is blowing, and raindrops are falling.
Inside? Me and Joshua?
We were happy. Together.