Tuesday, April 22, 2014

S=Stress

My life as a full-time writer, mom, wife, chef, maid and part-time art teacher equals stress. Stress comes in all shapes and sizes. I'd like to share a few things that make me stressed. Maybe you'd like to share some as well.

Sibling Rivalry
I'm referring to my own three kids. Can't we just all get along?

Snow
How do I hate thee, winter? Let me count the ways.

Summer vacation
Summer is my favorite season. Once again, I'm referring to my kids. They will be home--with me--all day long. With summer football camps and practices and other sports' camps, hopefully they'll stay busy and out of trouble.
Praying for no broken bones this summer.

Storms
Storms don't stress me one bit. In fact, I love a good thunder storm. It's the aftermath: the damage, the clean-up, the being without power for a week. Since I grew up in the Midwest, I heard the tornado sirens long before I learned to walk. I'm currently still living in the Midwest. When the blast of the eerie siren screams at me in the middle of the night, I decide if it's a viable threat based on my gut feeling. If I do feel danger lurking overhead, I grab a few essentials: contacts, car keys, and, of course, my kids and mosey on down to the basement.

True Story. Last summer sirens shrieked outside my house, again, for the tenth time that week, foreshadowing imminent doom. That was my first warning. My hubby was out of town. I thought to myself, "It's probably just a little wind." After unplugging the computer and cleaning up the living room, I shooed my children to safety. (I know, I'm a terrible mom!) I told my kids to go hide in the basement bathroom to wait out the storm. I have a high tolerance to fear. The picture window in our walk-out basement provided the perfect view of the perfect storm. I considered making some popcorn.

The amber colored sky mixed with blue lightning was my second warning. I opened the door for a peek. Not one single leaf was moving on any of the tall trees in our backyard. That was my third warning. (Three strikes you're out.) It was coming. I closed the door and checked my iPhone's weather app. Wow! I've never seen those colors before on the radar map. Instantly, the picture window went dark. Branches and debris hit the glass. I hit the deck and ran for the bathroom. My oldest son, and I thought my brightest son, said, "I must save my X-box." He ran back upstairs.

In his absence, I heard a thunderous snap just outside our picture window. I thought, If the tornado doesn't kill my son, I will. He returned to the safety of the bathroom shelter. In less than a minute, the tornado was gone. I returned to the great outdoors. The tallest tree in our backyard was snapped in two and scattered across two backyards.

The tornado stayed about one hundred feet off the ground and took out a couple thousand trees throughout town and several hundred roofs, but no one died. Not even that crazy kid who went back upstairs to save his X-box.

Last week's storm left me with a broken patio table and a million shards of glass. I've been cleaning up glass for over a week. What stresses you? Kids, work, writing, cleaning up after kids? Did I mention kids?  

#atozchallenge #amwriting #storms #stress



23 comments:

  1. Now that was a close call! Surprised you didn't kill your son. I lived in the Midwest for a time as a kid and remember watching a tornado race across a field a couple miles away.

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  2. Scary stuff. But so glad you have a basement! They don't put basements in houses in Nashville anymore. Something about the soil being too rocky? Instead they throw a bonus room on the house and consider it done. My husband often searches Zillow for homes with basements and it's always a house that needs a lot of work. I'm not so fond of renovating houses!

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  3. I hate stress, but I LOVE a good storm. They're so amazing and I love the sound of rain. Wonderful.

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  4. Wow, that's some story. I can see my kids wanting to save their iPad. Sibling rivalry is definitely at the top of my list. My kids love to drive me batty with this one. Snow--I grew up in the south and still love it now that I'm in the north. I will not let my husband use our snowblower because shoveling means a break from sibling rivalry. As for storms, it's kind of the same story. Down south, with all the humidity, we had ear-busting thunderstorms. The closest I got to a tornado was one that struck a neighboring town of mine. But this far north? Thunder sounds weird--tiny and fake. I kind of miss the big boomers and the lightning shows.

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    1. It's almost as if our kids are vying for our attention through fighting/bickering with their siblings. We've had a few snow-thunder storms. Now, that's weird--snow/rain mix, lightning & thunder.

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  5. A great bunch of S words! thanks.

    Beth
    www.BethLapinsAtoZblog.wordpress.com

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  6. Stress is a good indicator that you're alive. That's what I keep telling myself, at least. :)

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    Replies
    1. I think it's God's way of giving me endless things to write about:)

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  7. I also have three kids and would really love it if school went year round, lol.

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  8. That had to be a scary experience!

    Yep - kids can really stress you out. Good luck surviving summer vacation!

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  9. I am quite stress prone. Small things tend to stress me. You had a real scare with your son running up to get his X-box. That must have stressed you out big time.

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  10. Yikes! That's a freaky experience. I would have killed my son too in a similar circumstance. Oh. My. Gosh.

    I hear you about the stress. Sprinkle in some home schooling, pull out the snow, and toss in several community responsibilities and wala! We're twins!

    True Heroes from A to Z

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    1. Hahaha! I wish I could switch out the snow for sand:) I did home school my second son for a few years. Never again. I'd rather teach a classroom full of boys than him. I admire you!

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  11. We don't get summer storms so much around here, but the winter storms are bad enough. I'm so sick of the snow but unfortunately, the weather is forcasting more later this week. Ugh.
    I hear ya about the sibling rivalry. Sometimes my kids play so well together, and other times it's like, STOP ARGUING ALREADY.

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  12. Visiting from A/Z; so glad I did. I truly enjoyed reading your post on "S" and then your story about the tornado; glad all was safe except for the trees. I'm reluctant to live anywhere where tornados might strike, yet I live in earthquake country, LOL, and it doesn't bother me. I too like a good storm as long as there is no damage or injuries or deaths as a result.

    It will be here before you know it, so enjoy summer!

    good luck with the rest of the challenge; we are on the home stretch now!

    betty

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  13. We will not talk about the 12 page paper I just learned is due. I knew I had a paper due. I just didn't know it had to be 12 pages long. Gulp. I'm going to go and hide for the next two weeks (when it's due).

    Liz A. from Laws of Gravity

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  14. What a scary experience. We have tornadoes, but I've never seen one.

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