When Wonderful Weekends Go South

Somedays my head is just a flood of thoughts and I have a hard time streaming together sentences that make sense, and today is definitely one of those days. I was having a really good relaxing weekend that included friend time, nice weather, shopping, and some new furniture, and then I looked at my phone last night. You know when you get those texts and your heart immediately starts to thud in your chest before you even open it? Yeah it was one of those. It was from my best friend from high school (her mom is a cop in our home town). I could only see the first two words and it was the name of a girl we were never very close with.

When I opened it I found out this girl had just died in a car wreck. This isn't earth shattering news, because like I said we weren't very close to her, but it just makes my heart hurt. We are from a town of less than 10,000 people and something about knowing that so many people around you are hurting so much just kills you. Especially since this particular girl's family shares a fence line with my dad's shop. I also think  that people my age in our town have a particularly sensitive response to death because every year we were in high school and two years after someone we went to school with died. The odds of this are astronomical. I don't know how one little valley can hold so much hurt and heartbreak.

When I went to college I was shocked when I realized this wasn't a normal thing. Most kids don't have classmates who died. My mind has a hard time grasping death. It's so unfair, and seems so illogical. They were just here how can they be gone? And then I immediately begin thinking what could of been different so it wouldn't of happened? I think being exposed to so much death before you turn 20 kind of warps your mind... All I know is my heart hurts for my home town, I'm tired of death. I thought the curse had finally been broken only to find out that it came crashing back taking someone who was so vibrant and loved by so many. The worst part of the whole story is that she was less than a mile from her house. Less than a mile from being safe. And if it would of happened 10 seconds later she wouldn't of been on a hill, and she probably wouldn't of died. Death is a cruel thing, that I don't think I will ever understand.

Falling Off the Face of the Earth

I'll say a little about my trip to Moore, but I think I'm kind of a day late and a dollar short on that one... These last two weeks have been CRAZY!!! Getting everything together for Moore, going to Moore, and then recovering,. Sprinkled in with 2 trips to Laramie to drop of the dog and pig him up, recovering from the Bolder Boulder, and working a full time job... My time management skills are poor on an easy day and these last two weeks were far from easy! I haven't touched my running shoes or the gym since the Bolder Boulder :-( I'm disappointed in myself, but life happens and sometimes you need a little break.

 

 I actually packed my running shoes for our trip to Moore, but we didn't get there the first night till 11, were up at 6 on Sunday, didn't get home till about 10 on Sunday, were up at 8 on Monday, and weren't home till about 9, then Tuesday when we drove home by the time I got back from getting the dog it was after 10 :-( There just wasn't time. I know that Monday and Tuesday morning I could of "made time", but I was EXHAUSTED and embracing every minute of sleep I was getting, plus the hotel gym was out of commission and I wasn't so sure about running outside since I didn't know the area very well... I wouldn't say I fell off the wagon because I'm itching to get my fitness on, BUT I would say that I'm probably dragging behind the wagon holding on for dear life! I made a deal with myself to go to bed early last night and get up and run today, but I didn't fall asleep nearly as early as I wanted too, and I didn't pop out of bed till 7 :-( yes I could of still made a run happen, but it would of been rushed, and my runs tend to be uber crappy when I don't have time to eat before them. And for the first time in FOREVER I feel caught up on sleep and like a real human being again so I don't regret it one bit! Sometimes you need mental health days! I signed up for the community color run tomorrow FOREVER ago (it was the first race I signed up for), so I'm still going to do it, but I'm definitely downgrading to the 5k from the 10k! I'm hoping I don't die!

 

On another note I am jumping back on the My Fitness Pal bandwagon. I only used it for a few weeks, because I thought I could do it without it (and I'm lazy), but I know that I am definitely going over my calories with all my snacking and I need it to hold me accountable! I just realized this morning that in 2 weeks I will be waking up in Vegas :-) I know I am not going to transform my body in 2 weeks (Hell I've had 4 and 1/2 months and haven't made progress!), but I am going to work hard and eat right so I can feel good about myself and the effort I put in when it comes time to put on a swim suit.

 

And now time for a little Moore recap... I don't even know what to say honestly. The devastation is so overwhelming, and heart stopping that it just makes you gasp when you see it. The pictures really don't do it justice. I truly can't imagine being in these people's situation. I don't know how they literally pick up the few pieces of what's left of their life and begin to piece it back together. Yes, I know it is just stuff, but still it's your whole life! I wonder how they do basic things like get to work? Along with their home's there were thousands and thousands of cars that were just smashed into unrecognizable bits. And what about all their work clothes? Yes, there were TONS of clothes donated, but do people donated nice work clothes? Where are they going to live? Yes they are in a hotel now, but is that where they stay for a year or more till their house is repaired? Where will they get meals when everyone leaves? The red cross, salvation army, and butterball have all already left town. What happens to them then when they are still in hotels without kitchens?  My heart just breaks for these people, I really don't know how they do it.

 

The most amazing thing though was the positive attitude that so many of them had! I think after 3 major tornadoes they all just have the attitude that it is just stuff and at least they are alive. When you see how everything is just GONE and what is left is completely mangled you really grasp how much of a miracle it is that the death toll isn't higher. You never want to say only because every single one of the 24 lost is a tragedy, but it really is amazing that the death wasn't in the hundreds. We stopped by the Orr Family Farm on Sunday evening to see if any of the horses were still there and if they needed any vet supplies (they weren't they have all been moved else where), and Dr. Orr happened to be the one we found when we got there. He stopped and talked to us for 15 or 20 minutes telling all about the damage and the day it happened. He said when he came out of his house the first thinig he saw was that all his barns were gone, but one so he immediately began thinking of the elementary school (his property runs right up to Briarwood Elementary)  which he couldn't see either. He said he thought for sure everyone had to be dead, that there was no way they could of survived, and sure enough that is the school where they ALL survived.

 

I had two favorite/most impactful moments from the trip. The first was on Sunday when we were dropping off our people donations to the church, the pastor took the time to stop and talk to me. He was telling me all about the community, and his congregation and then he stopped and he said you know the best part of all of this is that I never had to ask for any of it. All I said was I've got space and all of this showed up. It made me smile somewhere deep inside my soul, I love knowing that there is still good in people, and that things like this still happen. The second moment was Monday when we were helping Dr. Orr clear trees from drive (he's in his 80's so it definitely wasn't something he himself could be doing, although I have no doubt he would of tried!) he came by right before we finished and he said "you know the funny thing is right before my wife passed away she was saying she wanted to get rid of all these trees. I bet she is up there chuckling now, knowing that even though she is gone she is still getting her way." The positive attitude of those who were SO affected blew my mind. I don't know how they do it, I think I would be a bitter upset wreck if it happened to me. Being "Oklahoma Strong" really is a bred of their own. They are pretty amazing.

 

 

Some of my favorite furry friends I met

Donations to the animal shelter, they had another cart of them and we had at least this much that went to the humane society

First pulling into Moore

Driving down one of the Main streets

Pulling into the Orr Family Farm the red barn is a part of a kids play land he had. It had trains, zip lines, merry go rounds, and all sorts of fun things for kids and most of it will have to be torn down and re built

The only barn where the horses survived

More of the kid's area

The piles of debris along the road were huge! And there is still SO much left to clean up

The second tornado also brought massive flooding :-( This was Sunday and the water was just barely below flood stage

Hard to below those were cars

Church we dropped donations off too, there were several other tables, a whole WALL of water, and then they had more tables set up gong down another hall way

More of the donations

 

 

 

 

I haven't died!

I just got back from Oklahoma last night about 10 I will do a long post on that experience tonight, but I just wanted to say something so you knew I didn't fall off the face of the earth :-) I just uploaded all the pictures and now I'm off to work! Happy Hump Day all!!! Here's a little preview:

One of my furry friends I made

Orr Family Farm

Orr Family Farm

Across the street from the hospital