I’m Home - Despite A Bunch of Storms
May 15th, 2008 at 11:01 am by Dee O'Neil Andrews
Boy, God watched out for me yesterday and me and Tom last night trying to get home. DFW was closed most of the morning in Dallas with storms coming through, but I didn't leave Abilene until 1:30 p.m., so missed those.
Then, in Dallas it was cloudy and rainy, but the storms had all moved east, so we were able to leave there on time about 3:45 p.m. The flight was packed full, as usual, and it was a big 737 with six seats across, rather than the MD80, which I'm usually on between New Orleans and Dallas. Between Dallas and New Orleans, though, we had to divert our route further south to miss bad storms.
I arrived in New Orleans just a little late to greet Tom who was waiting for me. After we got my bag, we decided to go to dinner (it was 6 p.m.) in Metairie before we started through New Orleans to the east and north across the end of Lake Ponchchartrain and on up Interstate 59 to Picayune.
It was about 7:30 p.m. when we left there and the skies were ominously black to the north. Lightening strikes were bolting to the earth in rapid succession and it looked horrible. It was.
We managed to get across the seven mile long still battered bridge (from Katrina) across the end of the lake and through Slidell before the rain and hail started. You could not see the interstate because it was raining so heavy and the hail sounded like golf balls slamming into our car.
We had to pull of the road under an overpass with our emergency blinkers on, but Tom was afraid we'd get hit by one of the 18 wheelers roaring past doing 60 or 70 miles an hour. I have no idea how they could see because Tom had been doing less than 40 mph and we couldn't see a blasted thing. (We discovered later - closer to home - that our right front headlight was out!?!)
We just stayed under the underpass for a minute or two and then got back on the road to go about another three or four miles up to a quick stop/gas station at the Louisiana/Mississippi state line at Pearl River. We stayed there for a while before we got back on the road.
It wasn't raining quite as bad, but still bad. That lasted all the way home and I was never so glad to pull into our garage finally, safe at home on our little hill top out in the woods.
Tom didn't do too bad while I was gone, considering I was gone nine days. He had all of the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, which was full, but hadn't been turned on to clean them. (Some things, like getting the little packet of dishwasher detergent out of the package under the sink, are just a little bit too much for a "real" man, you know? I mean, I guess I should be thankful he managed to get them all in the dishwasher instead of all over the house!)
He also didn't do any laundry while I was gone, but at least it is all piled up either in the laundry basket in our closet or in the laundry room by the washer. I'm guessing, though, with all of his "leftover" beach towels from Jazz Fest and from being on the Mississippi gulf coast all weekend, that there are going to be about four loads of laundry, which is two more than usual (once a week).
I should be working on laundry right now to try to get caught up, but I wanted to write to you guys - my friends. I'll start working on it this afternoon. I need to unpack my bag, too, and get all of my clothes hung up and put away. Then, there is the matter of getting caught up on finances in Quicken. I have lots of little debit card receipts to enter so I can balance our checking account in Quicken. At least Tom is good about saving them all for me when I'm gone.
I was supposed to have had a doctor's appointment in Slidell this afternoon, but it was storming really bad this morning, too, so they called me to change it. Said the weather was really bad in Slidell and their computers were down.
It's about noon, now, and the worst of the weather has moved on, at least for now. It's cloudy here, but still and has cooled off a bit. It's in the mid 70s and I have the house open to the back porch.
I'm still trying to adjust to the high humidity since getting home last night after the dry air of Abilene for a week. Wow, it's humid!
I've got to run, y'all. Tom just called and is on his way home for lunch. So, I've got my work to do. I always enjoy having him home during the day.
Hope you all are having a good day today. Cheers & Blessings to you all!
Dee
Those storms can be bummers, can’t they? We’ve had quite a few thunderstormy days lately, with serious storms all around us. Today, though, it’s just rainy. Makes me think of an afternoon nap with my favorite
Those storms can be bummers, can’t they? We’ve had quite a few thunderstormy days lately, with serious storms all around us. Today, though, it’s just rainy. Makes me think of an afternoon nap with my new favorite cat curled up in my lap. I’m going to try and resist, though, and do something useful. I’m getting a bit too fond of those afternoon naps. But, hey, I had a knot removed from my head this morning. Surely that would qualify me for at least one more nap. (It was most likely a crusted mole/wart thing, but they’ll do a biopsy just to be sure.) I realize that comment “knot removed from my head” could open up a bunch of comments from the peanut gallery, but I risked it anyway! Glad you’re safely home and that your time away was so much fun.
P.S. - The reason you have a partial comment and a whole one is because Barney walked across my keyboard and “submitted” the first one.
I don’t know how to delete it!
I’m sorry you and Tom had to weather those storms. I do hope you “used them up” before son and I make the trip to Oklahoma tomorrow.
Welcome Home…Glad that you arrived home safely!
Glad you’re home and safe. Those southern storms can be ferocious but living out here where we almost never have a storm, I really miss them! I love a good thunderstorm, when there are no tornadoes involved. Thank you for placing us ahead of the laundry … always place friends before laundry! As for Tom and the dishwasher, I will do everything involving a dishwasher except empty it! After living in this house almost a year, I still don’t know where all the various dishes / utensils go and really don’t want to know. When we move, I’ll learn where they go since we’ll be there the rest of our lives.
It is always good to get away from home and better to return to it! Glad you made it home safe and hope your car did not get too much hail damage. I am sure sweet Tom just did not want you to feel like you were not needed and that is why he left the dishes and the laundry for you!
My hubby always tells me that the family can “survive but not thrive” without me and that is a pretty accurate description!
No matter how good a time you have when gone, theres NO Place Like Home! :o) Good to know you are back, safe and sound.
The storms have been CRAZY this season, especially here in Arkansas. Glad you made it home safely!
Am, glad ya are home, safe and sound!
huggs
So glad you are home and most glad that you were able to go and visit without any complications, especially with the new diagnosis and not knowing! You must feel much better and like you accomplished something great!
I laughed as you described feeling the humidity after being in dry Abilene. I was born and raised in Lubbock and we would travel to Abilene and the DFW area often and we referred to Abilene as humid! We thought we would die in the summer with their humidity! So to hear you describe Abilene as dry is so funny to me. Of course, since I now live and have lived in Southeast Texas for 35 years, I understand where you are coming from and know that Abilene is drier, but I guess it is all relative. Don’t go to Lubbock….if you think Abilene is dry. You would shrivel up. I always refer getting back home as “wetting my gills”. Nothing like breathing in that salty, moisture filled air into your lungs.
BTW, I think Tom was wanting you to know you are still needed! Enjoy being back in the nest!
I may have passed you under that overpass…I did see someone under an overpass!I drove 25 mph from slidell to nearly Gulfport. Some of the worst weather I’ve ever driven in. Glad we’re all safe!
I hate flying in storms. I have to expend so much mental effort keeping the plane in the air, it is exhausting!
And tell Tom to get up and get to work! Kami is out in Boise for a week so this morning I stripped the beds, did the laundry, remade the beds, cleaned the parrot’s cages, ran a load of dishes through the dishwasher, and put the newly laundered clothes away. Real men do housework (at least, that’s what Kami tells me).