... but, we might as well be! Tonight tornadoes and baseball-sized hail pounded North Texas. My pregnant sister-in-law hid in a closet with her toddler son. Tim was at work, and Baby Dowdel and I sat on our sofa, devising what our next move should be.
I had 10 minutes to decide what to do: take measures to protect our new car (we've only had it for 8 months) and risk a tornado popping up, or stay at home and take cover. We have no covered parking, and baseball-sized hail can kill a person.
I so wanted to take my car to a nearby gas station, car wash, or anything with a roof. I went to the bedroom and looked for something that might protect the car. The nearest tornado was 10-15 miles from me, and at that moment, it was only sprinkling where I was. I had time to move the car if I acted quickly. Did I mention the car is NEW?
And yet ...
I looked down at my belly, and there was Baby Dowdel, quietly awaiting my decision. Perhaps (s)he was pacing the floor, too?
"But the possibility of getting hail on the car is much greater than a tornado getting us!" I wanted to argue.
Baby Dowdel didn't try to convince me otherwise; (s)he just sat there.
I had 10 minutes to decide what to do: take measures to protect our new car (we've only had it for 8 months) and risk a tornado popping up, or stay at home and take cover. We have no covered parking, and baseball-sized hail can kill a person.
I so wanted to take my car to a nearby gas station, car wash, or anything with a roof. I went to the bedroom and looked for something that might protect the car. The nearest tornado was 10-15 miles from me, and at that moment, it was only sprinkling where I was. I had time to move the car if I acted quickly. Did I mention the car is NEW?
And yet ...
I looked down at my belly, and there was Baby Dowdel, quietly awaiting my decision. Perhaps (s)he was pacing the floor, too?
"But the possibility of getting hail on the car is much greater than a tornado getting us!" I wanted to argue.
Baby Dowdel didn't try to convince me otherwise; (s)he just sat there.
"I don't even know if our insurance covers hail! Oh, I get it. You think I'm being materialistic. You think we'll go out there, get caught in the storm, slide off the road, meet a tornado, or get hurt by the hail, huh? Well, well ..."
No answer.
I had a quick vision of what Tim would say if I left and was injured in any way. "Didn't you think about you and the baby?" he'd say. "You did all that for the car?"
I had a quick vision of what Tim would say if I left and was injured in any way. "Didn't you think about you and the baby?" he'd say. "You did all that for the car?"
Yeah, at that point, I'd probably feel shame, I thought. So, BD and I decided to stay in. We plopped in front of the TV to watch the radar, gathered my cell phone and home phone, said a prayer, and cuddled together on the couch.
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