What I Had Planned Was......

To get some wallets sewn up, then clean up my sewing area so we could make room for the new tortoise cage. I feel like I'm lagging a bit in getting stuff done so far this year and I really just wanted my Friday to be all about sewing and catching up.

What I actually did was wake up at 12am on Friday morning to the news of a huge earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Luckily, I clicked on the weather channel to discover a tsunami warning for our area. So, I spent the morning glued to the TV, radio, and computer to keep track of what was happening and packing us up with emergency food and water. Once the tsunami hit Hawaii, I woke up Mark and the kids and we all headed towards town just to be on the safe side.

We aren't super close to the water, but we are just right down the way from the low lying farm lands that we call the "Arcata Bottoms" and the Mad River. So as we headed downtown on foot, We watched car after car head away from the danger area and were warned by some wonderful people of the tsunami threat. Just as we turned the corner to head towards the middle of town we heard the warning sirens in the distance and noticed planes flying overhead. We tromped on over to the donut shop for a breakfast treat and to take a breather while we decided what to do with ourselves for the rest of the morning and afternoon if need be. It was so weird to plan a day full of our regular activities for the kids knowing what had happened in Japan and what might happen here. Even so, after donuts and milk we got some fancy coffees and planted ourselves at Mark's work for updates, etc. Once there, we heard about Crescent City's harbor being thrashed and a lot of the other damage and road closures. Scary stuff for sure. I am so thankful we are safe and so very sad for everything that has happened in Japan.

I decided to take the kids to the plaza and let them just run and play and enjoy the sun before we headed home. Ed took the opportunity to roll around in the mud and Ciaran spent his time admiring the daffodils and the trucks and buses that made their way around the plaza. It seemed that there were a lot of people downtown that had done the same thing and were just waiting to hear when it would be safe to head back home. It was nice to have company for sure.

So now I am very tired and a little jumpy. Happy we're still here but sad at the same time. Hoping that I can sleep through the night without waking up in a panic over things I can't control.