Started off taking Jake to the dentist yesterday morning which went great. They are slowly getting him acclimated to the whole process. He let Mrs. Lyndsay polish a few of his teeth with the "toothbrush" that they use there. The Dr said everything looked great, but that his back teeth have some pretty deep grooves in them so we'll have to be extra attentive when brushing back there. (I have caps on my back teeth b/c they had such deep grooves and are so cavity prone....so it's mommy's fault) Anyhow, after that, I treated my men to Stoby's and we had a good lunch. We got to sit in the train car so Jake was thrilled. After that, I ran Tom back home, then went to meet my friend (names are not being used to protect the embarrassed :)) and we headed to Conway. First we went and did a little shopping at Target, then we went to Playworld. After the kids were worn out, we went and had an awesome dinner at Marketplace. Then it was off to Kohl's where I got myself a couple of much needed tops and a pair of denim carpi's. After we were done and got loaded up in the car (while we were still in the parking lot) my friend got a phone call. "Hey did you know that there's a HUGE storm headed this way? You probably won't make it to Russellville before you hit it". GREAT. Anyone who knows me knows my anxiety about storms and cars. So I let her drive and popped TWO of my anxiety meds to get me through the ride home. (FYI, I only take them in these kind of circumstances, it's not an everyday thing.) As we approached Russellville we got more and more hopeful that we could make it home before it started, even though the lightning was getting so bright and so close....it still wasn't raining. So, paranoid, freaked out, and watching the Weather Channel on my phone the whole way home....we finally made it to the exit by Flying J and then turned on that road right past the Shell station and still no rain! Before we made it to that curve, you couldn't even see the road in front of you. It set in so quick and so forceful that she couldn't even turn on the windshield wipers before we were blinded by the wind and rain. But we're still going to try to make it home, we have no choice at this point right? We made it to Alaskan Trail and then the lightning struck. It was the closest, brightest, most unbelievable lightning I have EVER seen in my life. It was like someone was holding a camera 2 inches from my face and took a picture with the flash on. Afterwards, I was blind, everything was black, and then I saw "spots"!! I swear that lightning had to have struck somewhere within 10 yards from our car. It was the scariest thing ever. So now what's going to happen!? That road is filled with trees and power lines, and we can't see 10 feet in front of the car from all the wind, rain, and hail! In a panic to prevent an accident and help the kids from freaking out, I said just pull over, right here in this driveway. But it was a long driveway, also filled with trees. So she drove all the way up the driveway and parked right in front of their garage! Worried these people that we don't know are going to start freaking out that there's some strangers parked next to their house (and also because the kids were scared) I got out and ran to the front door and knocked. Thank goodness they answered! I asked if we could just get our kids out of the car and stand in their garage until it passed. (We were also worried that a tree was gonna blow over and land on the car) They were really nice and let us in. Turns out they are good friends with the neighbors I grew up next to when I lived on Crow Mt and they go to First Free Will Baptist which is where Jake goes to daycare. So, we stayed there about 10-15 minutes and then it was over. Well, the storm was anyways, I was still a nervous wreck. I probably couldn't have even written my name if my life had depended on it because my hands were shaking so bad! I can't remember being that scared in a Thunderstorm. Needless to say I was also SOAKING wet just from running to the front door. I mean, DRIPPING with water. When we got back in the car to leave, my drivers side rugs were soaked, Jake's car seat was soaked, the bags were soaked, all from just opening the door to get him out. This morning, Tom had to take out my floor mats and lay them in the garage to dry because they were STILL soaked! Wow....I'm even getting a little worked up writing this! I know, I have issues...but everyone does right?? This just happens to be mine :)
Anyways, I slept good last night. Even though the anxiety meds didn't help DURING the storm, once it was over I was able to relax quicker than I probably would have been able to had I not taken them. I fell asleep about 5 minutes after I got in bed, which was about 10:15, and I didn't wake up one single time throughout the night. (Which is also a first, I usually wake up at least 5 or 6 times throughout). Hell, I barely woke up for class this morning! So it's been a good day so far. We're going to the Passion Play tonight, it'll be Jake's first time. I think he'll like it. And I'm really looking forward to Easter this Sunday (even though it's supposed to storm then too, but as long as I am HOME, I'm OK). So, I'm sure I'll have some pics to post next week, until then....Have a great weekend, HAPPY EASTER!
Here's some cool pictures of some lightning and thunderstorms to along with this story!
