Life Is Not The Same Anymore....Scary Spring

Today is May 30 and it is 1am and I am afraid to go asleep as many other people are tonight.  We are expecting more storms to go through the area tonight.  The word tornado has become a frightening word after living through multiple tornadoes touching down in various places this past Monday.  A Memorial Day evening that marked history for a lot of us.  We are so grateful to be here in our home and yet scared of the super storms that keep coming.  It seems that no matter where you live they are happening.  Mother Nature is not discriminating.

I have lived in the same area all of my life and never worried about tornadoes but this year has been the scariest for all of us.  My husband and I spent three hours in closet under our stairway Monday night as tornado sirens were going off and rain was falling along with hail and wind.  All I could think about was not being with my children and my dad.  We spent the eve texting and calling each other as the tornadoes kept changing course.  We were in the direct path of two of them and at the last minute they turned southeast of us.  So grateful for neighbors that got my daughter, her husband and my grandson and invited them to stay in their basement.  Our family is safe tonight despite some damage to our homes and no electric or water.

Our surrounding communities will never be the same.  The destruction from multiple tornadoes has been devastating and has left us all very sad.  It is going to take a long time to recover from this as some areas look like war zones.

Every time the sky darkens and a storm comes we all are frightened.  This has turned out to be the scariest spring that I can remember.

In the after math we are also dealing with trees that are falling due to all the rain and wind that has weakened them.  A huge tree fell in the middle of last night at my dad's home.  It just missed his home.  He said it sounded like a bomb going off and it shook his house.  It fell from the woods behind his home.  It was an old tree that snapped in the still of the night.

We never know from day to day how blessed we are until faced with disasters of nature.  Make sure you tell your family that you love them. Make sure you all have a plan of where will be a safe place during a tornado.  Pack a survival pack and make sure your children now what to do.  When a tornado comes there is no time to dilly dally  around you must seek shelter.

Let us all pray that this weather system slows down and we can feel safe again.

Life is beautiful! 
Elizabeth😴

PTSD Doesn't Make You Look Different

Spring has a hard time coming this year, but today it made an appearance.  Not only was it a warm beautiful day but it was also the first baseball game of the year and the REDS won!!!  I am now coming alive again after a long hard winter.  It has felt like this has been the longest winter in history.  Slowly but surely there are some buds appearing on the trees and a few plants peeping out of the ground.  I had to get flowers to lift my mood and now have pansies planted in pots on my porch.  I am hopping that we don't dive directly into a hot summer as we are still suffering the affects of a drought from last summer.

The news has been on fire with so much hatred and our government has left me wondering what is in store for my golden years.  My goodness do they give Emmy awards out for the news.  It is like a daily soap opera.  I don't know any more what to believe and I am glad spring is coming, so our attention will shift to being outdoors and away from TV.

Speaking of TV my television literally went out with a bang two nights ago during the news.  I guess it was fed up with the shenanigans going on in this world and blew up.  It is officially dead.  Too bad I have more than one TV and I can still watch more Russia obsession.

Sadly the news is reporting massive destruction from tornadoes and flooding.  My prayers are being sent to those people living through the devastation.  I am hoping that FEMA and insurance companies will help them rebuild quickly.

My heart is also saddened to hear of all the people committing suicide.  We must acknowledge and educate people about PTSD.  It happens not only to people in war, but anyone who experiences a life threatening situation.  I know because I have had PTSD.  I was taken back by people who say, "You don't look sick".  No people with PTSD don't look different, but they sure feel different.  It is scary and you may feel depressed, have severe anxiety, panic attacks,  insomnia, fast heart rate, upset stomach, sweating and a feeling of isolation.  There are many more symptoms as your nervous system goes haywire.  However there is treatment and people can recover.

It is imperative that family members and doctors ask people if they feel they have lost hope for life.  It is no longer acceptable as far as I am concerned to overlook the power of the mind.  Your brain needs medical care just as the rest of the body.  People with PTSD are not crazy they are medically ill. They don't look different than they always do.  It is like a silent killer that we don't see.  Their body has gone into a fright flight response and has gotten stuck.  Let's get rid of stigma and realize that anyone of any age may need help with mental health.

Let's all put down the phones and listen to the people around you.  You may save a life!

Life is beautiful !!

Elizabeth:)