We actually had a doctor appointment scheduled at 4:15. Miss Eliza has been pulling at her ear all week and getting more and more cranky, while sleeping less and less. I figured it was teething, by by the fifth day of it, it seemed like a call to the doc was in order. I only wanted to speak to a nurse to confirm my suspicions, but the receptionist thought we should come in. So we did.
The weather was starting to look ominous around 3, so I checked the radar online and saw the storms heading right for us, approximately the time we would be leaving. I decided we should just leave a bit early, get to the safety of the doc's office and be all set. Well...the best laid plans of mice and men and all that.
We set out in the last of the sunshine. Not quite halfway there (it's only a 10 minute drive, if that), the guys on the radio suddenly start screaming about a tornado warning and the storm moving 50 miles per hour and GET UNDER COVER TAKE SHELTER NOW!!!! Sure enough, out of the west came an enormous bank of BLACK clouds and a complete wall of rain. Within about ten seconds, I couldn't see anything and was completely terrified. In the back seat, Eliza had no clue and was happily singing to herself.
I didn't know what to do. Had I reached the point of no return? Should I venture onward or go home? Having no idea what I would find either way, I slogged one more block, then turned east toward home and more major streets, i.e. those with fewer trees that could fall on us. It was scary, like driving in a blizzard scary. I got to our street and there were huge branches down on either side just around our driveway. Mercifully, I could pull in (no idea what I would have done if the driveway had been blocked - had a nervous breakdown, I think) and the big tree over our parking area had not fallen down. Although I was convinced it would do so as soon as I got under it. Obviously it didn't.
We ran inside and I turned on the radio while trying to avoid the huge picture window that makes up the front portion of our living room. Did I mention that Eliza opted out of her second nap so had been awake since 10:30 that morning? So she was feeling all kinds of special. The rain and wind and lightning were intense. But because the storm was moving so quickly, the worst of it was over soon. Right around the time I would have left the house to go to the doctor under normal conditions actually. Of course.
I called the doc to make sure they were all still alive and there. They were and actually seemed to find my question odd, which means they have no windows. We saw a lot of fork lightning as we drove and several downed trees, one of which forced us to improvise a detour. But we made it, waited for almost 45 minutes (which isn't like them), and found out that....she's teething. Even the doctor was annoyed with the receptionist. Oh well. Better to know, right?
Drive home #2 was still challenging, but not as terrifying. Quick dinner for Miss E and then I put her right to bed b/c she was exhausted. Round #2 of the storm rolled in with much lightning and rain. Mac was at the Shedd Aquarium for an event and said it was amazing. We are due to get even more rain, possibly storms today. But we have no plans to go anywhere!
Here are the pics of our street from our balcony:
Immediately after Round 1, before we went to the doctor again.
A close-up of the car under the tree in front. Note how dark it is at 4 in the afternoon!
The scene this morning, after one visit by clean-up crews.
I hope all of you in the Chicagoland area weathered it okay. I promise to post again soon with catch-up on Eliza's other recent adventures!
