Racing to get this post in between flashes of lightning. Also, we're near the point of having to bail in the basement. So far, the water is running mostly in a nice straight river toward the drain, but if this keeps up, I may have to move the office to higher ground. Just call me Noah.
Interesting day today, filled with many of those "I have to blog about this" moments. There's a big high school reunion in town this weekend - it's not mine, but my mother, her siblings and my brother are all alumni, and the older daughter is a current student. Also, most of the kids from my own elementary school went there. So I'm kind of an alumni by osmosis or something. I've known the school song since I was eight.
So my uncle is in from the West, and this afternoon he and some former classmates had arranged to visit their old elementary school, where they graduated from Grade Eight fifty years ago. Since it's the same elementary school where I'm currently Queen of the Parent Council (actually, they call me the Chairperson) I had offered to be their tour guide.
So the tour began, and we wandered down to the basement. While we were down there, there was an announcement of some kind, and as we came back up the stairs we found students streaming past us into the halls. My mother (who was tagging along) remarked that there was little daughter's class, but she couldn't see little daughter. The class was all lined up along the lockers, sitting on the floor. As I looked up and down the hallway, I realized that all the primary classes were lined up along the hallways, sitting on the floor. In fact, students seemed to be coming down from the second floor to sit in the hallway.
Yeah, it took me a minute to figure it out, too.
They were having a tornado drill! At that point, the VP raced down the hall saying "Down! Everyone get down! Staff too, get down!"
Well, our little tour group, consisting of me and four older Baby Boomers, hit the floor in a hurry. The sound of hail and rain started just as I glanced toward the front doors of the school - through the window I could see the sky was Frankenstein Green.
Maybe it's not a drill after all.
I called home quickly, and hubby answered with "Wherever you are, stay put."
I scurried down the hall and found my little one, and her teacher said she could come and sit with us. So Little Daughter now has the memory of the day Grandma and Uncle and Mommy got to have tornado drill with her at her school.
We have pictures.
By the way, Middle Daughter was up in the front hall with the big kids, many of whom were, as the daughter puts it, "Drama Queens." The seventh grade girls were crying more than the little kids.
In the end, the storm blew over, and we all returned to our routine, and now we have something to talk about at future family gatherings.
I went up to the reunion tonight with the relatives. At the Opening Ceremonies, I discovered that no matter what, there will always be people in the world who have absolutely no class whatsoever.
Backstory: The provincial government, elected last fall to perform miracles, made it clear this week that miracles are not on the agenda. And people are angry. (I'm not. I didn't expect miracles.) Very angry.
So, one of the visiting dignitaries who is an alumni also happens to be a Provincial Cabinet Minister. Now, she's a good lady. I don't support her party, but I like her. She's smart, funny, and works hard. And when they introduced her tonight, someone booed.
And then other people booed, and it was just nasty. It was pointless, and ugly, and really cast a shadow over what should have been a night for celebration. Sandra handled it with an incredible amount of grace and dignity, and I was really impressed. Her short speech was not the least bit political. I was really disappointed to see that some people would see this night as the appropriate place or time for that nonsense. Yes, she's a cabinet minister, but she was there as a graduate, and there was no need for that kind of behaviour.
And the guy that started it didn't let up either, to the point where finally his wife told him to leave the gym.
Anyway, I found it offensive, and I don't even support the party.
Other highlights included someone I haven't seen in twenty years recognizing me without my name tag, and telling me I looked good. We'll see what tomorrow brings!