What an eventful day. We woke up to a call from my dad in Indiana at 2:50 AM, telling us we had a tsunami warning. (What wonderful parents I have. They knew it was the middle of the night, but they also knew we don't have TV. Thanks, guys!) We woke up and started making a mess of everything. Of course, my biggest concern was all my crafting stuff, so Dave humored me by helping me get all my paper up high. (Guess what the highest thing in our house was... Uh-huh... my cricut.) He also helped me throw the piano on the bed. (It only took a minute. Why not? The tsunami wasn't coming for eight more hours anyway.) I also thought it would be smart to take a quick shower and use my electric toothbrush, considering that might be the last chance I had for a while.
We also got pictures and scrapbooks put up high. (When I worked at a photography studio, a trainer asked, "What's the one thing people regret losing most in a disaster? Their pictures. Everything else can be replaced, re-built, re-bought, but you can't get those pictures back." It's always left an impression on me.)
Anyway! We packed a lot to bring with us, too - clothes, food, toiletries, scriptures, important documents, camping stove, fuel, that kind of stuff. We started calling friends to give them as much of a warning as possible. Then I remembered that one of our friend's husband was out camping, and she was home alone with her daughter! Holy cow... I knew I would be flipping out if I were in her shoes, so we decided to make sure she was all right.
We ended up following her to her family's place on higher ground. Oh, but before that, we stopped to top off our tank of gas. We waited in line at Costco - which, incidentally, opened about four hours earlier than usual - for an hour, just to get gas. It was nuts!
But we made it to higher ground, where a wonderful family, to whom we are practically strangers, so kindly took us in... and let me sleep. (Thaaaaank youuuuu!) I was so touched by their kindness. And our poor hostess had just had baby #2 within, what, a couple weeks? Seven adults, one toddler and one dog all invaded this house at a moment's notice, and they took us all in with a smile... and waffles. :)
We sat most of the day listening to internet radio and watching the news, waiting for something monstrous to happen... but luckily, nothing did. I'm not thinking, "Oh, all that for nothing," but I'm really glad we've gone through it now, and we know what to do. We now know what things take top priority in our house - my cricut - what might be smart to bring with us instead of putting up higher - pictures - and how we can be better prepared - cash stash, basic 72-hour kits. Truth be told, it was a very exhausting, but very exciting day!
