Our Safe Place

A momentous occasion occurred for the Bryant-Claxton clan this week. Some of you know that a tornado hit our neighborhood last April. Now, I was raised in the South, loved in Tulsa, and went to grad school in Florida, so I am not unfamiliar with severe weather, but this...this was different. I have heard storms rage past, but this time I FELT IT. Actually felt the tornado touch down as I huddled in the bathtub of our trailer with Zoe. I wrote about our experience and its aftermath here...please take a moment to check out the words and pictures (if you have never seen it), so that you might understand why this week was so exciting to all of us:

"A Mighty Wind: Our Storm Story in Words and Pictures"

The weather people say that you'd be safer OUTSIDE IN A DITCH than in a trailer in a tornado. Even with ties downs, a brick foundation, and porches built on, it is still on a crawl space, and apparently, the winds can go up under the house and launch it and its contents into the air. Ugh. And although our family was divinely protected last April, it was a terrifying experience for all of us, and not one that we EVER want to go through in that way again. So, in the year and change since that event, we raced to the car, drove to our landlord's house, and crammed ourselves into their storm shelter with all of their family members on 4-5 occasions, not counting the days before they put in their shelter that we went to a hotel when our area was at high risk for tornadoes. Ok, so this week, we were finally able to afford OUR OWN TORNADO SHELTER! It turned out to be kind of a cool process, during which I took a few pictures for Zoe...and I thought I would share.

My heart leaped when I heard the sound of the big truck coming down the road! It carried a small backhoe, a crane, and our safe place (in two pieces).

 While the backhoe started digging, the huge truck backed into our yard

They dug and dug and dug...and made a big big hole!

Measured it, of course, to make sure that it was even so the concrete didn't crack.

 And more digging...

Then the crane began to lift the concrete "box" from the truck...you should have heard the creaking from the strain...that thing is HEAVY!

Swung it out over the hole...

And began to lower it down...would it fit?

Yup, it did! Lower it went...

 And lower...Until it was fully seated, and dirt shoveled in to fill the sides.

The ridged edges of the box were prepped with concrete "glue"...and the crane lowered the lid until it settled snugly on top...

And one man piped the glue around the seam on the outside, while the other did the same on the inside...

And then they used the backhoe to build up the sides with the dirt from the hole.

Voila! The finished product!

Naturally, Z had to check it out as soon as she got home...

And pronounced it AWESOME!

And so today, we put down some foam mats on the floor...

 

put in our emergency kit, a sleep mat, and a little potty :)

drew some pictures on the walls with Sharpies... (yes, that is our family lol)

and last but not least, included a prayer...

"Angels, protect this safe place and those who shelter in it. AMEN"