Tuesday, August 23, 2011

A Flashback

Just before 2pm this afternoon something strange happened. I had just finished switching laundry over and putting dirty lunch dishes in the sink. I sat down on the couch. John and Jessi were running up and down the hallway playing tag and laughing together.

All of the sudden the house began to sway and then shake from side to side. I froze in bewilderment with so many thoughts racing through my head. The first moment the house started swaying I though a very strong wind had come though (we live in the middle of nowhere with an open field across the street so there's nothing to 'protect' us from any strong gusts that sometimes come through). But, the house didn't stop shaking and no strong gust of wind would last that long. I looked out the front window and there was no sign of it being caused by the wind. The leaves were barely moving. There were no large tractor trailers rolling by going too fast past my house. So why then was my house shaking?

The shaking went on for about 15 seconds and after I realized it wasn't a strong gust of wind or a large tractor trailer going by and then I got the same sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as I did 15 years ago when my dad and I were on a mission trip with our church in Ometepec Mexico. My mind took me back to that day when during our sleep a 4.7 earthquake came through. I actually slept right through it. In the morning after I awoke I heard everyones story about what they experienced and how they felt when the earthquake had woken them up and saw there was a large crack from the top to the bottom of a wall adjoining the hallway and dinning area of the house we were all staying at.

We went on with our regular work day and at the end of the work day as we were all making our way back to 'Casa Wood' an aftershock came through. I remember vividly standing in the road facing Casa Wood and seeing my dad a little way off to the right of me. Then I heard what sounded like a train coming right toward us (there was no train anywhere near where we were). I felt the ground shake starting from the right side of my body through me and down the left side of my body. I froze. As the shaking left my body I looked to my left and saw an old woman with a load of laundry wrapped in a blanket on her head walking up the road. She simply stopped, let the tremor pass and kept walking. I looked back to my right, saw my dad and ran to him. He wrapped his arms around me and held me. I felt safe again. And the day went back to normal.

Now back to the present, a few minutes after the house (and my stomach) settled I checked Facebook and saw many of my friends statuses had been updated to say they just felt and earthquake. I changed the channel to find a news program and CNN was reporting that a 5.8 earthquake had just passed through the Washington DC area. I was amazed that the ripples from an earthquake made it's way through the Chesapeake Bay all the way to my house on the MD/DE line!

Praise the Lord there was no damage to my house. Not even a toppled over picture frame. John and Jessi didn't even notice what was going on because they were too busy playing. Tabytha was in Texas with her mommom and Aunt Shannon. I called Charlie to see where he was and if he had felt the quake that just came through, but, he was driving at the time and didn't notice anything. I called my mom to find out if she and my sister's were ok. They were fine. Charlie's and my friend, Harold called me to find out if the kids and I were alright and as soon as I hung up with him letting him know everything was fine my MIL called to check on us. We were fine and everyone I talked to was fine. No one I know suffered any harm or damage.

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