The Tree That Broke Me

      Dear Readers,

       I've been absent and I honestly don't think I was missed very much. Only one person asked if I was still writing. I had a very good reason for not blogging: not long after Easter, in the beginning of May, my county had an intense electrical storm and we were under a tornado watch. I sheltered in a centrally located closet in my home, hiding with my family, both humans and house pets. We rode out the storm and watched both Ryan Hall Ya'll and Michigan Storm Chasers on YouTube. The violent weather roared over us and we heard the deluge pounding our windows.

     Soon, the worst of it was over. What hit us, we realized, were actually the straight-line winds off of Lake Michigan. The sudden force snapped pine trees in half and uprooted hardwoods. One hit my neighbor's roof. You might ask how that affects me, directly. Fair question: my grandchildren live next door and they were terribly frightened. Everyone's power was out, except ours. We have a Generac generator. My youngest daughter and I walked over there in the blackness after the storm had passed. Maybe in a real neighborhood it's less of a challenge, but we live in a rural area.

     There was an entire dead, old tree right across half the road and some cars were driving up and over part of it, crushing its brittle branches. We shone our flashlights along the path's saturated soil and reached the house. We found one pine tree had penetrated their roof and the front door was blocked. Inside were crying children. Their mother could barely get out of the door to talk to us.

     In bright sunlight the next day, I found a huge limb was on top of the rabbit hutches but none of the structures were cracked. The chickens were safe as well. I went back next door and saw that there was a random branch that had stabbed into the ground several inches. If it had hit a human like that, it would have killed the person.

     I was incredibly shook up and for several months I put myself into work at the office. That became my focus until my last day of work just before Thanksgiving. There was less drama there than at home for me. My boss was getting ready to retire and was in the process of selling her building. I just couldn't string two words together for this blog and set it aside as I have done sometimes in the past. Some people can bounce back from nearly losing family. Not me. I already have my issues as you might know. 

     Then in the days leading up to Christmas, I wanted to write some greetings. Still I couldn't do it. I watched footage of the California floods yesterday. I'm unsure if that is what snapped me out of my funk.

      Today I had a choice: write now or maybe never write again. I have so much to say! I have thoughts, feelings, facts, history, controversial subjects and so much more to share, even if only my family and close friends benefit from my words. So here I am, wishing you a Happy New Year. My goal is to write once a week. 

Comments are appreciated.

#Generac #RyanHallYall #YouTube #MichiganStormChasers

                    The porch lights came on and we could see more downed trees.