I don't like tornado warnings

I woke up yesterday morning to a cloudy day but didn't think too much of it. I knew it was supposed to rain, but I hadn't checked the weather and didn't realize how bad it was going to be.

(The only time the tv is on before noon is when the boys are eating breakfast and watching Cartoon Network.)

My husband called me, though, mid-morning to tell me to watch the weather. There was a strong line of storms moving through and there was a tornado warning. He called a few times after that to check on us and tell us that all of the employees in his building were evacuating to the main hallway of their building.

I don't know if I've mentioned this before or not, but I'm not a huge fan of tornadic activity.

Especially when my husband is not here.

Thankfully, when we built this house my FIL put extra-thick wood in our closet under the stairs so that we would have a safe(r) place to be in case of a tornado.

Unfortunately - in cases of emergency- that closet is completely full of stuff right now. Lots of stuff.

(This is also the same closet where we housed a family of mice last year, by the way.)

So, I turned on the tv and started preparing to hunker down in the closet. I got candles and matches and a flashlight and my laptop and the house phone and my cell phone.

I started emptying out the closet to create enough space for my boys and dog and I to fit into.

Then I began listening to the weather lady. She was saying, "If you live right here, you should take cover." Yeah, she was pointing directly at my house.

Ok, not really my house, but right in my area.

I prayed and walked around cracking all the windows. I don't know if that's a big no-no in times like these, but our house is sealed really tight. I heard one time that a house can explode if its too tight and there's a lot of pressure around it, and I'd rather not have my house explode today, thankyouverymuch.

(Seriously, our house is so tight we have to crack the windows next to the fireplace when we light a fire so that the smoke doesn't fill up the house. So if you don't stand directly in front of the fire, you freeze.)

(But I really do love my fireplace. It's gorgeous and I'm very thankful for it.)

ANYhoo.

The storm quickly passed over, though it did touch down in the same town as my daughter's school. We had no damage and it really never got very bad here.

I was very thankful when it was all over and everyone was safe.

So what is your experience with tornadoes? Care to share?