Level 1 Hurricane in Chicago?

Seriously! Thursday pm, about 3:15 as all the school busses had just left the grade schools, Grade 1 Hurricane force winds blew through our neighborhood north of Chicago. The sky and air were white with whipping rain. 100 year old trees were falling like toothpicks, the ground was so waterlogged, as the trees blew, they were uprooted and blown over. It was Armaggedon!

Allison was suppossed to be on the school bus, but I had picked her up. Good thing! An electric pole was torn out of the ground and wires smashed into the bus as the pole lay on top of it. Emily's bus driver tried to take her wheelchair off the bus...moron! I shouted for him to keep her on until things calmed down. Insane!

Crackle....Crackle...Snap...Crash! One of the huge 50 foot Maple Trees which Canopy my house cracked in half and came crashing down on Utility lines. Buzzz....buzzzzz.....the power went out.

OMG what is happening?

The streets were beginning to flood...think Louisianna. It's time to get out of here!

Off to Mom's, where they have lights, electricity, air conditioning and food.

We call my sister who lives nearby, but got hit harder. She's out of town, her basement is flooding, no power and the sump pump doesn't work.......

72 hours later...

We are all safe. Power was restored earlier today,and tomorrow we attempt to go home. No food in the refrigerator or freezer...no fresh fruit...everyone wanting to stock up too. It's crazy, simply insane. Tomorrow I will begin to put together an emergency kit, even if I never use it. When the world is spinning out of control, you don't have time to think, but you have to! You have to stay calm. You have to protect your family. You have to protect yourself. We made it through this one, I don't want to do it again!