......where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain,
And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet, When the wind comes right behind the rain
OOOOk-lahoma, Ev'ry night my honey lamb and I, Sit alone and talk and watch a hawk makin' lazy circles in the sky.
We know we belong to the land (yo-ho)
And the land we belong to is grand!
And when we say
Yeeow! Aye-yip-aye-yo-ee-ay!
We're only sayin'
You're doin' fine, Oklahoma!Oklahoma O.K.!.
"And the land we belong to is grand!"....never have those words had more meaning to me then in the last few days.
Yes, I am currently in Alaska...3,872 miles from this home to our home in Moore, OK. A home we still own. A home we have countless memories in.
Rich is in Oklahoma. He has been for over a month and there is still no time frame for his return. He is safe. Thank God he is safe.
I will never forget Monday's events. The feeling of being absolutely helpless. Fear. Anger. Anxiousness. So many emotions flooding me from so far away from The Twister.
I received a text from Rich: "Tornado sirens going off. I am good right now. In a shelter"
WHAT?!? I had just finished my normal morning routine, 12:13 Alaska time. I shot him a quick response and then did the WORST thing I could have ever done. I turned on my computer and watched the live coverage from KFOR.
I would NEVER wish those mins on anyone. To sit in Alaska and watch as an F5 tornado is reeking havoc on a place you call home and where many of our friends still reside is heart wrenching. To sit and watch as it passes places I use to visit with my husband and our friends. To sit and watch as I hear Jon Welsh (chopper 4 pilot) call out the area the tornado is ripping through and knowing it is going over my friend's house at that moment is devastating. All I could do was sit and pray from miles away.
Then I waited. I sat staring at my computer and phone waiting for texts or phone calls that Rich was ok. That Mike was ok. That all would be ok. I stared at the phone trying to will it do something.
Finally I received word from Rich....he was safe. He then sent me word on Mike. He was safe with his wife and all of the dogs but his house is gone. I just sat and cried. I had spent many days, hours, dinners in that home. I considered it my "other Oklahoma house". Now it looks like a pile of toothpicks.
It's amazing how powerful Mother Nature is.
I am grateful for Rich's safety and the nice family that let him into their shelter. I am grateful for Mike,Cate, and the dogs' safety and that he had a shelter in his home. I can't imagine, I don't want to imagine, what could have been.
Oklahoma has been through a lot. Everyday it grows stronger and stronger. I know this will not slow them down. In the days to come, and the years to come, Moore, Oklahoma will be bigger and better then ever.
I hope to lucky enough to return to Oklahoma during Rich's military career. (a move we are almost guaranteed really)
Home is where the Air Force sends us...and where we leave our hearts.
What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.
Helen Keller
