This storm came through last Wednesday night. At 9:00 pm, Delaware County had its first tornado warning. I’m pretty terrified of storms. I think that they are a beautiful show of Mother Nature’s power but that doesn’t prevent me from turning into a quivering puddle of goo. During this first warning, I sat frozen on the couch watching the TV with bated breath and probably a few tears. (Husband says I was shaking and rocking too.)

Being the paranoid and ultra preparatory man that he is, Husband began gathering emergency supplies into our laundry room. It is a centrally located room, far from any windows or outside walls and it has the bonus of having a door. He carried in bottled water, a can opener, bowls & utensils (We store some canned goods in the laundry room as well as detergent. It’s a multipurpose room.) shoes, flashlight, candles, spare batteries, blankets, my Perry the Platypus Pillow Pet, his favorite pillow and last but not least, the twin mattress. There was exactly enough room to put the mattress on the floor between the wall and the washer/dryer. It went from one end of the room to the other with no space to spare. By the time all this was in place, the tornado warning was over. I felt so much better about being prepared that I was able to go to bed with no problems.

At about 1:45 a particularly nasty storm was rampaging outside. I listened for a bit until I thought it was getting out of hand. I checked my phone and sure enough, Delaware County had its second tornado warning. I got Husband up and we went to the laundry room. The tornado warning was over shortly but the severe thunderstorm warning would last at least another hour. Husband joined me on the little mattress and we fell asleep. He got up around 4:00 am to a silent world. The worst of the storms were over. He informed that he was going back to bed and asked if I wanted to join him. My response? “No. Because I’m sleeping.” After which I apparently snuggled deeper into my blankets, hugged Perry and began snoring.

I woke up at 6:30, having spent the majority of the evening in the laundry room. I couldn’t keep myself from giggling as we put the mattress back in its rightful place. While I’m thrilled that none of the storms or warnings amounted to anything more than minor damage in the county, I’m pleased to know that we have a safe place to go that is apparently so comfy that I spent the night in the laundry room.