April 2011

April Showers.

April was a violent month. There were more tornadoes than one could count, not to mention some of the deadliest tornadoes on record. April also brought the death of my father. Just three short weeks after the last time I saw him I found myself boarding a plane to San Antonio with Jennifer in the wee hours of the morning on April 7, 2011. Dad had had a heart attack and after several hours of trying to get his phone to work they were able to finally get a hold of my mom, followed by me. I will never forget the phone ringing at 4:10 am. I will never forget the mad rush to pack and the few minutes I was on the phone with Jenn trying to figure everything out. That day ended up being the longest day of my life, and by 9:40 PM I had to tell my mother the hardest thing in the world, Dad was gone.

Jennifer and I spent just twenty- four hours in San Antionio, trust me, we were awake for all of them, packing Dad's office and his house, and saying goodbye to all of his friends. The longest flight led to the longest drive back to Alabama where Mike and the girls were waiting at mother's for my arrival. We made it safely from Texas to Alabama in record time. Sadly that was only one leg of the journey, we still had to get Dad back to Jasper. We arrived on Saturday, Dad followed us on Tuesday and on Thursday April 14, we laid him to rest next to his two sons.

I returned to work the following Monday feeling lost and empty. I was met by so many hugs and words of encouragement I didn't know where to begin. During my absence from school my principal had hired a sub to provide some intense behavior intervention. He told me that I was not to stress and just ease back in. I made it from Monday to Friday without having a break down. I made it a whole week, and survived some rain and potential tornadoes. April wasn't over yet. April 27, 2011 dawned violently. I awoke to James Spann advising me to call my boss and have my boss call James Spann. James Span. Was terrified and so was I. I started calling my mom to check on her. None of us had any idea what that day had in store for us.

By two o'clock what appeared to be the worst weather had passed through Jasper, mom had lost cable, but not power and we were being sent home. By four o'clock I was watching a tornadoe cross over I65 and telling my mother to take shelter. Then the most horrible thing fell out of the sky on live television and destroyed most of Alabama in a moment. From that point on cellphone coverage was snotty. I'm not going to lie, I looked to the heavens and said," Seriously? Seriously?! I just buried my father, now you're torturing my mother? I was angry and terrified. Luckly honor thy neighbor was still being taught in Jasper and my mother, braved no power, and little to no food for four days. She has just lost her husband, and almost lost her home and her sanity two weeks later. April just couldn't end fast enough for me.