Nothing quite like a stormy spring in the tri-state area known as Greater Cincinnati. Many here remember the mega tornado outbreak of 1974, when on April 3rd hell broke loose across this section of the country was hit by some large twisters. I was just a kid, 5th grade, but the seriousness of the whole situation, viewing damage and seeing one form and touch down after collecting golf ball size hail in the backyard, all left a lasting impression on my young mind. I’m terrified of bad storms. Not your run of the mill thunderstorm that makes a lot of noise and a big light show, though I hate them, but rather the severe variety full of straight line winds, hail, tornado warnings and sirens blaring. That was last night all over the region. My sister hates any storm, so even the loud ones that aren’t packing a punch will have her shaking.
When we saw what was headed our way we put our purses, shoes, and mom in the bathroom. Hey, don’t judge us, she is dead and it was just her ashes. 😉 This is the second time this spring we’ve had to prep for the worst and stick her in there. Hopefully that was the last time before we bury the ashes later this month. We will be thankful to finally have her buried with her parents. While I’m not a really big visitor of graves, once in a while I do like to pay honor to those I loved that are no longer here, so it will be nice to have a place. The rest of the family will be happy to have her buried.
How are you all doing on day whatever it is of the lock down, pandemic fiasco? I’m good. This is my second, full day off in a row and I’m pretty happy about it. The break has been very good for me. Yesterday we met a friend at a park across town to pick up masks he made. It is nice to have something that isn’t elastic (my ears are so raw), and that I picked the print. Little things I can control in a world full of things out of my control, this keeps me sane. The drive was nice, got us out of the apartment for a bit for something other than work.
Today I will drink coffee, work on my budget for this payday, and crochet on blanket for my grandson. Rather than watching the governor I think I will listen to contemporary Christian music on my Google mini, because it really isn’t changing how I live to know how many cases we have in Ohio of the virus, or how many have died. I can catch the tweets to know if there have been any changes to orders for my state, which I doubt there will really be any. What we are doing here seems to be doing a wonderful job of “flattening the curve”. I’m grateful. My cousin posted this image this morning, I thought it was great and wanted to share it in case others need a reminder to focus on what you can control and forget what you cannot.
Stay safe, healthy, and distant for now!
Marti Gardner 