Today was a day of rain and wind and thunder and lightening.

It was a day of neighbors taking cover and coming together.

It was, I suppose, a typical day in a small southern town.

The weather report called for rain, damaging winds, hail and possible tornadoes. We moved the potted plants inside early this morning. Fetched lawn furniture and secured it in the out building. Scooped leaves out of the storm drain. Moved the remaining car off of the street, where it would be an easy target for hail, and onto the driveway, under the tree we hoped would not betray us.

And then we waited.

My husband worked from his office upstairs and I did dishes in the kitchen below.

He checked in on my and I checked in on the news, the weather app, the darkening sky.

The dogs paced the floor while the cats hid in corners anxiously awaiting something they had not been told to expect.

Mid afternoon the alert went off on our phones that tornadoes had been spotted and we should seek shelter. Immediately the neighborhood watch site began to light up with neighbors spreading the word and sharing information.

Someone knew someone in the county it had just passed through and reported the size and direction it was heading.

Others chimed in with power outages until a grid was established.

Then the wind went wild and the sky opened up and technology went silent until it was over.

Turns out (from what I can gather) we were spared the actual tornado but got severe wind and a deluge of rain. It ended as quickly as it had begun.

As soon as it was over, the site began popping again.

Was everyone OK?

Who had lost power?

Who needed what?

How could people help?

A lot can change in a few blocks. Our street was flooded but that tends to happen anytime it rains; old storm drains, lots of leaves. Other than that, we were fine.

A few blocks over a transformer had blown leaving others in the dark.

Still a few more blocks up, trees were down, one landing on a porch roof.

Again, the response was immediate.

“I have a chainsaw.”

“I have cold beer.”

“Georgia Power is on the way.”

It was an immediate coming together, even in these days of staying apart.

It was a sense of community that was real and organic. An understanding that no matter the circumstances, we are all truly in this thing called life, together.

Here is some video from the storm because when I hear rain I can not help myself…….