I am sure that everyone can remember exactly what they were doing a year ago when the tornado hit. It is one of those things like September 11 or Pearl Harbor. It is etched into your mind whether you want to remember or not.
Well, Ava was just a little over 4 months old when the tornado hit. There is no way that she will remember anything about that day. I am so glad. But, I do want her to know what our day was like a year ago...
We had a pretty decent day. It was stormy all day, but Northport seemed to get passed by anything major. I remember calling my friend Maggie (who lives in Samantha) and telling her that she could come to our house when the bad stuff was supposed to start hitting. She brought Avery over and told Nathan to drop by our house on his way home from the University (where he is employed) We let the girls play for a little while (it was mostly Ava laying in her swing watching Avery walk back and forth) :) Nathan made it to our house after work and immediately got on our computer to watch James Spann. We watched the tornado move from Mississippi to Alabama. It never stopped. We then watched it move past Skyland Blvd. Everyone but Nathan got into the closet and put our babies to our chests. We never heard anything or felt the house shake, so we knew we had been passed.
We had no idea what had just happened in Tuscaloosa. Jeremy and Nathan went to China Bob (our favorite fast food Chinese) to get take out. They came back home with horrified looks on their faces. They had just found out that most of 15th street was demolished.
It wasn't until the next day that we realized the full scale of what had happened to our town. I am still sad for the families who lost loved ones. I am so thankful, though, that we were spared. In the past year, Maggie and Nathan have added Eli to their family. In another month or so, we will add Greta to ours. Life does go on for us. I realize that it isn't the same for so many others.
I want to post a few pictures of the damage and destruction that we saw two days later when we were allowed on 15th street.
Avery put the teething ring on Ava's head :)
Enjoying some China Bob
What was left of the Central Church of Christ building
Hargrove Rd.
Crescent Ridge Rd. in Holt
15th Street
The facade of Hobby Lobby
I think this used to be Milo's
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