Spring in Oklahoma

Last week was a typical Oklahoma rainy spring week with some severe weather and flash flooding, plus a couple of tornado threats. So far we haven't had any damage, but the yard is over-saturated from downpours that have dropped 6 inches of rain in a matter of a few hours.

After experiencing a tornado when he was three, Gray has been nervous around thunderstorms and has a heightened awareness of the weather. At any sign of a tornado warning, he immediately starts asking to go over to our neighbor's house (which is where we go if we need to get in a tornado shelter).

When the rain is not severe, he loves tromping around in it and got a little playtime one day last week when we had rain without any thunder or lightening.

On the day we had a tornado outbreak, Gray and I had returned home from the store and he immediately headed to his room to load his emergency backpack. He returned with it full and on his back like he meant business. I asked what he had packed and he said, "Three stuffed animals and a flashlight." Sounds like a solid plan. I threw in his tablet and some snacks and we were set. 

Most of the time, we end up hanging out in our neighbor's living room watching the weather guys on TV while Gray and Cooper play or have dueling iPads to keep them distracted. Here you can see that Cooper was not interested in tearing her attention away from her show to give me a smile. 

We have the BEST neighbors and I'm thankful that it gives Gray a distraction from his storm anxiety. One of these days we'll get around to putting in our own storm shelter, but I won't be as much fun. Maybe we can trade off and our neighbors can come to ours sometimes so we can still enjoy the social time (and wine that is typically also involved).