Surviving Derecho

A picnic in the basement (the coolest place in the house)

Every few months my best friend Katie makes the journey to Blacksburg to visit with our family.  I love these visits and so do my children (not to mention Robert who uses this time as a retreat with students).  And this time was no exception.  Katie came to rescue as she served our family for nearly 2 days during the storms that have left so many without power.  When I met Katie over 10 years ago as passionate college students I could have never imagined the many ways she would care for me.  Katie jumped into action on Friday night as I desperately tried to care for my three little ones during the windstorms.  And when the power went out it was Katie who magically pulled out two puppets and began to play games with my children to keep them from being frightened.  On Saturday morning I continued to be amazed as she took Alexander to find ice to keep our groceries from spoiling and helped me clean up and search our yard for lost items.  She cooked, cleaned, shopped, played games, kept me calm, held and loved on Ella, made me laugh, told my children wonderful stories, and just continued to impress me with what a strong and beautiful woman she is.  Our power is back and life is slowly getting back to normal.  I'm already looking forward to my next visit with my friend but hoping this one entails a little more Gilmore girls watching and less storm watching!