If you don't follow me on Instagram, first of all, wyd? ;) but, you would have seen the knarly hailstorm that hit our house earlier this month (June 2022).
They were calling for storms, but here in the Midwest, especially Nebraska, that's a pretty vague word. It could mean many things. We didn't think it was going to be that bad. And it was bad.
We had gotten home from getting supper as a family and just got the kids down. I hopped in the shower because I wanted to get the oil treatment out of my hair. Aaron pops into the bathroom and says, "You should probably hurry up. The storm is headed right towards us, and you don't want to be in water if there's lightening. It's almost here".
Not even 30 seconds later I heard my middle child, Ayker, start screaming "MAMAAAAA. MAMA HELP ME!" as he was sobbing. Aaron heard him crying in fear moments prior, so he went and got him from the bedroom and was holding him in his lap in the kitchen chair. I very (VERY) quickly rinsed the conditioner out, ran out in my towel and swooped him into my arms. It wasn't .2 seconds later, we started to hear glass shatter.
I ran into the living room with Ayker and we sat on the chair together as Aaron ran into the back bedroom (Timber and Archer's room) and grabbed Timber out of bed and tossed her my direction. Right as Aaron entered to get Timber, Archer was screaming in terror. His crib was right in the "impact zone" and he was standing up in his crib being pelted by hail. Once I had heard Archer screaming, I bolted up to go get him, but Aaron being the incredible man he is, grabbed me and basically tossed me back because he knew I had no shoes on and there was glass everywhere.
Once Timber and Archer were out (and safe) I held all three of them in my arms and we hunched down on our chair in the living room as I covered them completely (mind you I'm still in my towel, don't be a moron like me and take showers when it calls for bad weather). At this point we didn't know which direction the storm was coming from, and we didn't know if we were in the middle of a tornado. I remember Aaron staring off and paying close attention to something. At the time, I thought he was trying to listen for anymore shattering glass, but he later told me he was trying to listen for a "train horn". If you don't know, tornados sound like a very loud train horn. He was .5 seconds from having us go to the stairs to our basement, but by that time, the wind and hail had stopped.
It was the scariest moment of my entire life. In the house we live in, it wouldn't have withheld anything as far as tornados go. Obviously, no house would if it was really bad, I know this, but our house is so worn down and so old, it would have been bad. I'll never forget the shattering glass and cries and screams of my children. I don't like to think of the "what ifs" because what happened, happened and I'm thankful for the outcome, it could have been different.
Here's a few pictures of the aftermath of the storm. We got everything cleaned up for the most part the very next day, which was incredible! With the help of our nephews, it was quick and easy. We lost.... a lot. Like a lot a lot. Only those close to us will know the real loss, but it could have been worse. Aaron deals with rust-free pickup boxes and.......he suffered a terrible loss. Boxes, bumpers, tailgates, taillights. He just put-up new buildings, all ruined. Crops, flattened. I lost a lot of clothes and shoes, and we lost a ton of bedding. Ayker's bed was ruined. Our rocking chair I've had for all three babies, gone :(
But ALL replaceable. So, it'll be okay! It is okay. We will rebuild and rebuy where really needed.
And.....I won't shower when I know bad storms are coming, lololol.
Best advice when bad storms are being called for your area, PUT SHOES ON. Seriously, just do it. Take it from me.
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