Earthquakes, Please. (At least you don't know they're coming.)

It was an average day- rainy off and on all morning and afternoon- giving the whole day a comfy cozy feel that led me to lighting candles and reading books while Ezra's nap lasted way longer than usual. At 4:00PM, Ezra woke up and I went in and got him. I called Chris right after that to see if he still wanted Ezra and I to come to his jobsite where he was working in West Edmond. I was getting directions from him on the phone and getting ready to head out when I heard an eerily familiar sound suddenly pierce the air.

Tornado sirens.

Completely unexpected. Part of me wondered if it was for real. They weren't expecting any severe weather today...

The lights flickered.

Me: "Umm... Chris? The tornado sirens are going off and the power is flickering."

Chris: "What? Oh, yeah. The sirens are going off here too."

Me: "What do I do? What do I do? What do I dooo?"

(This is where I begin sorely missing my basement at the old house.)

Me: "I miss the basement at our old house."

Chris: "TURN ON THE TV."

I flip on the television and unfortunately land on Channel 4 News. Drama-Rama. They are saying something about Wilshire Blvd and Mercy Hospital, which is only a few miles from where I live. They have "Live Footage" playing that appears to be transmitting from a cheap web camera duct taped to the dash of a car belonging to an overly dramatic newscaster. I see blurry chunks of video... a tree here and a phone pole there. Was that a funnel cloud? No, no- I think it was a STOP SIGN. They are reporting that the tornado is enshrouded in rain and not visible.

Oh, GREAT. An invisible tornado is a handful of miles from my home and (poop-on-a-stick!!) I accidentally left my basement on THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN.

Chris and I are still on the phone and we're both really unsure of where the tornado is or where it's headed because everyone at news 4 is sqwaking at the same time and they are shouting street names and I am still not too familiar with this town and WHERE DID MY BASEMENT GO?

I finally make out that the rotation is just west of our house and heading North.

North. As in, where Chris was currently working.

I'm trying to rattle off street names and intersections as I hear them on TV so that Chris can make out where it's heading and if he needs to leave. I'm trying to get Ezra's shoes on and listen to the news and translate to Chris on the phone while my son is yelling at the top of his lungs because he'd rather watch his Richard Scarry Counting Video Thankyouverymuch. I'm trying to decide if I should head out to the YMCA to ride it out or if the thing is far enough west that I can just stay at the house.

Chris decides to head home.

The tornado went North West of us before it did any real damage. They are expecting more severe weather tonight and tomorrow.

If you need me, I'll be downstairs.

What's that? You didn't think we had a downstairs?

We didn't... Until I started digging.

(This is a file photo. Not the actual tornado from today.)

You can read about our last tornado experience here.