Snows and Tornados and Family Stories
I for one am looking forward to the first snow. According to weather forecasters, we have a slight chance of a snow here on Tuesday. If it is like most of our November snows in Middle Tennessee, it will be a few flakes.
I recently had a delightful visit with a homeschooling mama and her mama. I’ll call them Tina and Janey. They told me stories about Janey’s childhood on a farm in Minnesota. The stories could have come straight out of a Little House book.
In one story, Janey reminisced about a November snowstorm. As we chatted, she suddenly remembered that the incident began on November 7! Her anniversary of the experience was the same day she and her daughter told me her story! Tina and Janey didn’t mention a year, but it must have been in the 1930s.
Janey’s parents left home on that November 7 to attend a funeral. Then the storm hit and the parents couldn’t get back home! The children and parents had no idea whether those away or those at home were okay. Three long days later, Janey’s parents were able to return. They were following a snow plow.
The parents found their children safe and sound and warm. Because it was so early in the season, Janey’s parents hadn’t put the heating stove in the living room yet. Their hired man had brought the heavy stove in by himself to keep Janey and her six siblings warm.
Our family tells the story of the first time we left twelve-year-old Mary Evelyn home alone. Ray and I left home with John and Bethany and drove to Nashville. We felt confident that Mary Evelyn would be okay for the short time she would be alone before a friend’s mom picked her up for a sleepover. How did we know that a tornado would roar into Tennessee? It even took the circle of three stars right out of the Tennessee flag flying above the state capitol.
Our resourceful Mary Evelyn crawled under the ping pong table in the basement. Her friend’s mom came right on cue to whisk her away.
You are making memories for your children to enjoy sharing one day. You plan some of those memories but some are completely out of your control. The scariest experiences now may make the best family stories in the future.
In the middle of the beautiful description of a godly woman in Proverbs 31 are these encouraging words:
And she smiles at the future.
Proverbs 31:25b