I rolled over and looked at my cell phone, it said 2:30 a.m. on Monday morning.. The weatherman had said it would get bad in Birmingham around 3:00 a.m., he wasn’t far off. I switched over to my ABC 33/40 weather app to look at radar and I said to myself, “we will be going to the basement shortly”. No sooner that that thought crossed my mind, the weather siren went off and the tornado was not far away. About that time the weather radio went off, and then our local meteorologist was calling out our town to take cover.

My husband is a ham radio operator and his fellow radio operators started calling out reports of what was happening where. I knew then the tornado was way too close for comfort. We grabbed our clothes, dressing as we ran for the basement, as he was checking in as an operator in case he was needed during the storm. We get to the basement and my husband is nervous. You see, the storms in 1998 destroyed the house we now live in, with my husband still trapped inside. The April 27, 2011 storms just missed our house by 4 miles and this tornado would miss us by 7 miles. We would get lucky again.

As I watched my husband work his ham radio to see how he could help, I watched him worry that once again he would have to survive the devastation that a tornado can bring. I had never been more scared in my life. I saw the devastation after April 27, 2011 and those images continued to flash through my mind. I am reminded every day as I drive home through a town, where many people died during the 2011 tornadoes, how bad it can be. Thankfully, we dodged a bullet, per se. But, others were not so lucky. Three people died in this storm and and our hearts and prayers are with their families.

Bloggers in and out of state can make a difference. The Christian Service Mission has had a tremendous impact on our community after the tornadoes ravaged our state. You however, can make a difference! The Alabama Disaster Relief Blogging Program, for every blog post written, will donate $25 to the Christian Service Mission, to raise money for tornado disaster relief. The goal is to raise $1000 by March 1, 2012, for this great charity. Please donate your time and share your story. Let’s help get Alabama back on its feet, and give hope to those who so badly need it.

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thegeekwife