We hear a lot about how important it is to “stay grounded” in life. Keep your feet firmly planted and everything will be fine, right?
But what happens when the ground is not so stable? When everything around you is shifting and swaying? When everything you could count on to be solid and unshaken is exactly the opposite? What then?
At 2:46pm on Friday, March 11, 2011, I was sitting at my desk in my classroom while my 2nd graders were enjoying some quiet reading time before the end of the day.
By 2:47pm, I was crouched under my desk telling my students that everything was going to be OK and to stay under their desks until I told them to move. Meanwhile, I watched as everything on the ceiling jumped around, the ground below me continued moving, and things fell off the shelves.
By 3:00pm, we were evacuating the building. It started raining when we got outside and another quake shook the ground beneath us.
By 5:00pm, we were allowed to return to the building. It was much warmer there.
At 6:00pm, I learned that our dog, Callie, who was alone at the time of the quake, was safe and doing fine.
At almost 11:00pm, we were finally able to go home. Some people had to sleep at school, while others spent hours on school buses trying to make it home. The school buses returned to school at 4am the next morning.
Saturday morning came with sunshine and blue sky. We are physically fine, but with each aftershock (which we are still experiencing, even as I write this) I feel a little more nervous. And a little more scared.
So what will I do now? I will read the comforting messages coming from all of our friends and family (we feel truly blessed to have your kind and caring words). I will clean the apartment. And I will make something delicious for dinner.
Those are all the thoughts I can muster right now. I will update everyone again as soon as I can.
