The Totality

Chrystal Boger

We had it all today.  Tornado warnings torrential rains, a deluged creek filling up the parking lot which forced teachers to move their cars off campus, Flash Flood warnings beeping on a kid's smartphone medical device every 15 minutes, indoor recess, early dismissal, crying kids, the whole nine yards, the whole shebang.  My class was mostly pretty calm, but you say the word "tornado" around here and people start losing it.  One Thirdlander said, "My brother told me that if I'm in a tornado, my arms and legs are going to be ripped off."  I wasn't sure what to say because obviously if you're inside a tornado, you will quite likely suffer loss of limb, but I came up with something soothing.  Because of the early dismissal, parents were picking up every ten minutes or so all afternoon long, so it was hard to get into anything that can be categorized as education.  After several conversations about how we're all safe and sound, kids made some literacy choices and ate oreos.  Though we ended an hour early, I actually felt like I spent 13 to 15 hours at the school site over the course of this day.