Emptiness

Third day without Tom in the house. He left a trail of stuff, kinda like a tornado hit the inside of the house, as he was trying to pack what he needs right away in Colorado. I spent some time today trying to organize and clean, but I'm not the best housekeeper in the best of times.

Speaking of tornados, yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the F2 tornado that hit downtown Salt Lake City, causing one death and millions of dollars of damage. It happened at lunch time and I was at a business lunch in the hotel smack dab in the path of the tornado. It truly does sound like a train heading your way. Fortunately, we were in an inside room, away from any windows, so none of us were injured. Many of the injured were cut by flying glass and knocked about by flying objects. My old Girl Scout training kicked in and I started helping triage the injured. Our old friend, Uncle Dan the Fireman, was on the scene very quickly. We saw each other in passing and had a brief visit - very weird feeling to have a normal conversation in the middle of chaos. He gave me a pair of gloves and we headed off in our different directions. I ended up staying with a man that was shocky with a possible spine injury. The hotel staff brought blankets that they had warmed in the ovens so we could keep him warm and we took turns holding his head still until the medical personnel could get him on a stretcher.

All our cars were blocked in the underground parking lot and no one knew when we would be able to get them out. So, I walked to the Diocesan offices and got someone to give me a ride home. What a day.

So, I'll keep trying to tackle the tornado mess here at the house - at least there's no blood or injured people. I'd like to get the bathroom and kitchen cleaned up so that I won't return from New Church Boot Camp next week to something that should be condemned by the health department. Pray for me.

An Accidental Clergy Spouse