Yesterday, upper Sumner County and parts of Allen and Simpson Counties in Kentucky were under the gun. Tornado warnings lit up the map. I was sitting with the kids when I heard those words no one ever wants to hear: "The rotation is right over (the road I was on) so if you're in that area, you want to get to your safe area right now."
I stood in the front door at the one point and said a small prayer: "Oh, Set. Turn Your Eye away from here." I had to wonder too if we had time to get to the neighbors - there was no way I wanted any of us to be a cliche. "All those houses and that thing went straight for the trailer!" Been there, done that.
Once again, I found myself feeling a little helpless. The oldest kid started getting scared and wanted the two of us to go hide from the storm. Apparently, he felt his little brother could fend for himself (then again, he wasn't even fazed. He put his shoes on and wanted outside to play before he got distracted by a video game.) I've tried to help this kid deal with his fears in the past but it hasn't stuck. I'm not even sure I know what I'm doing anyway plus they get such conflicting messages from their parents.
I know he's four years old. I know he's not capable of understanding things like an adult would. I also remember being terrified myself when a storm would blow up because of the tornado that blew away our trailer when I was four. I would nearly wear the floors out where I would walk from window to window, trying to keep watch so the tornado wouldn't sneak up on me. I wasn't able to deal with the fear until I was in my 20's and I would hate to see him having to do the same thing. I would hate it even more if he stayed terrified for his entire life.
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