A story from the 92 year old lady ....

~source~

This past September I applied for a Meals on Wheels position with our local Office on Aging. I work part time. The position is two weeks on, two weeks off. During my weeks on, I work a total of 20 hours a week, 4 hours a day.

I have a rural route. I deliver to 10 different homes and take bulk food to the Chetek Senior Center. 

May 16th, our county was hit by a F3 tornado. It made the National news, 25 injured and one person died. This tornado was only two miles from our home. 

This tornado touched down right in the area I deliver meals.

I was not on the route the week of the tornado. Doug my co worker called to share with me that everyone was well, but oh my, a mess.

Now for my story, from my sweet 92 year old.

I was back to work the week after the touch down. As I made me deliveries I was in shock. As I drove to my sweet 92 year old, I could not believe it!  A huge pine tree fell on her house and the entire area around her was gone, ripped up, her deck was gone, trees, flowers, garden and even the shoreline down to the lake. 

I gave her a hug! I asked her "you are 92 years old, have you ever been in a tornado?"

"No, I have not! This is my first one."

Her son lives across the street from her, she told me he came over and said "Mom, a tornado is on the way. We need to get you down in the basement." She told him, " I am not going in the basement she said, I am going to the bathroom, I will never make it back up from the basement." 

She was out of power for four days. She told me, "I stayed right here! I was not about to leave my home."  The interesting thing was that after the tornado, our weather was cold and rainy for the rest of the week. With a tarp on the roof and half the house and no power, it got chilly. She said, "Oh I was fine, I went to bed early and got cozy under the blankets."

So why did I share the quote above?

My sweet 92 year old, has just lost half of her home, all of her trees and her shoreline. She takes me to the window that over looks the lake. The tornado also touched down across the lake, and took all the trees and tore up the earth. As she looked across the lake, she looked at me and said "Carla, I never knew all those homes where across the lake, it is so pretty at night to see the lights twinkle." 

... 

Another positive thinker in the tornado.

The area the tornado hit was full of trees, the homes were built among towering pines. What is so strange is the tornado took the pine trees, garages, out buildings but left many of the homes. I noticed today when I delivered, one of the homes that survived, they planted a vegetable garden. Something they could not do before because of all the shade. 

I hope they have a great first vegetable garden season.

 

 "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." - Abraham Lincoln