There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home.

Yesterday brought those of us in the midwest some very interesting weather. On Sunday and Monday the highs were in the high 60's and low 70's with temperatures dropping during the day on Monday. If you know anything about tornadoes, then you know that this is favorable weather for one. We did not have any tornadoes touch down around here but it did get a little crazy at school Monday afternoon.

Around 3:00 the tornado sirens went off while I was getting ready to teach a 2nd grade class. We quickly went into the classroom they are supposed to go to for shelter during inclement weather. We sat with the kids in the "duck and cover" position for a little while before being told that they could sit up in a more comfortable position. The kids were a little scared asking if it was a drill. Outside was getting very dark so we told them that it was probably not a drill. Around 3:45 the outside doors of our school suddenly slammed OPEN and we were told to take immediate shelter. I've always heard that a tornado sounds like a loud train going by. It wasn't quite that loud but it did sound a little like a train for a few minutes. There were a few kids crying softly in the room but all in all they did great. After the loudest part was over I immediately called daycare to check on Libby and another teacher's kid while I told daycare I would go check on her kids. Libby was okay but a little clingier than normal.

Unfortunately, all of this happened during dismissal time. The buses were in route from the middle schools (with kids on board) when all this happened. Our dismissal time is 3:45 - our first bus showed up at 4:20 and the last one finally got there at 5:30. Any child whose parent hadn't shown up to get their kid by that time was held at school and so were teachers.

Libby has now been in "duck and cover" position twice although once was in utero. This time they just had snack in a protected hallway. These are just some great things we get to look forward to living in the midwest, I guess.

TLA