"If you're worried mom, im fine!
That's it. No explanation. No reason.
Now, she works in D.C. And lots of things happen there. And it's not like I randomly get messages like this from her. It's not like she had gone missing for days, hadn't communicated with me in months, just came out of surgery or swam the English Channel. Now I was worried! Thank goodness for I-Phones, or at least instant access to the Internet from the cereal aisle in the grocery store. I pull up my trusty news app, and there is the top story: 5.8 Earthquake rocks D.C. and New York! EARTHQUAKE! That's crazy! (What was crazier were the people in Vermont who swore they felt it.) After a few more texts and knowing that she is safe and back at her desk once she realized there wasn't a bomb, I go back to deciding on Trix cereal or Sugar Pops (not for me.) And I use this topic of discussion several times in the next few days at my job when the earthquake conversation comes up. I tell people about the random text I got from my daughter! I was glad she was safe. The next day I talk to my other daughter who ended up in a doorway at her house when things started falling down around her. This comes from years in Japan where we did experience an 8.6 earthquake, and many more smaller ones. Once you have been thru earthquakes you never quite forget the feeling of the ground moving about below your feet. But I was glad they were all safe too.
Then, Saturday, Hurricane Irene comes roaring up the entire east coast. She storms ashore in the outer banks of North Carolina, pounds the Jersey coast, then Sunday she heads inland over New York City, Connecticut, and...............dumps her fury on VERMONT! Vermont ends up as the top news story on the Today Show this morning. At 7:01am my daughter called to be sure we were okay, saying she never thought the storm would reach way up here. It was a tropical storm by the time it did, but the rain and the wind were never ending. The worst damage is down in the southern part near Brattleboro and Rutland, although there are thousands without power and flooded. There is footage of a covered bridge being washed away. I did have to work yesterday, but I closed up the store about 4:30 and drove home in the wind and torrential rain. It was crazy. We didn't have any damage around the house, just a few leaks, and small branches down, but there was one huge tree down across the highway on my way home yesterday.
A damaged historic covered bridge spans Cox Brook in Northfield, Vt., Monday, Aug. 29, 2011.
I should have sent my daughter a text: If you're worried about me, im fine!
