Whole lotta shakin' going on

It's earthquake day here in Hawaii nei.

Oahu was shaken pretty badly and we were scared but there was little damage. The only problems we had stemmed from a lack of power all day. We had a major storm late last night and through this morning so it was also raining hard during the quake, amplifying the terror factor. Plus, even though it was 7 am it was still pretty dark due to cloud cover so it was necessary to dig out flashlights, lamps, candles, etc for most of the morning.

The quake itself was so scary!!! I lived in L.A. for a few years so I'm not completely inexperienced when it comes to earthquakes. But this one really shocked me. I've never, ever felt a quake here. It's just not something I was prepared for.

I'm having Bad Mommy guilt today because I never taught the Boy what to do in a quake...it just never occurred to me. He knows about fires, strangers, etc, but not earthquakes. He has a cold and was feverish, so he was in my bed cuddling with me when the quake went off. I jumped up to see if it was real (it was) then called him to come with me to go to the doorframe. Unfortunately, he was too busy trying to burrow under the comforter. I had to frantically dig him out and physically haul his little 40 pound self over to the door.

Now he knows that when there's an earthquake, he's not supposed to hide. We did earthquake drills today to make sure. It helped during the aftershock that he knew what to expect the second time.

Meanwhile, the baby (in utero) was going nuts and I had a little abdominal pain, probably from lifting, running, hitting the floor, etc. He's okay now and is thumping at me even as we speak, but I think I scared him. I guess it's true that stress and adrenaline rushes do affect these little guys.

It was a while before I could sit and rest because I was packing the Boy's emergency bag, double-checking our emergency kit, calming him down, setting him up with his colors, etc. I'm so, so thankful to my Mom, who showed up within a half an hour with craft supplies and spent half the day making pumpkins, bats and ghosts and singing silly songs with us. She kept him happy and occupied and gave me a chance to make sure we were good to go with supplies, water, etc.

Overall, we're feeling very, very blessed. Things could have been so much worse, and now we have had a little preview of what to expect in another emergency. It turns out my emergency kit was missing some essentials, and now I know what they are and will be stocking them ASAP. I can't believe I didn't have any cash, and I was foolish enough to let my gas tank get low -- both big no-nos in this situation, as none of the gas pumps were working and the stores with supplies were running on cash only.

My aunt and uncle are on the Big Island and the situation there is not real good. They are safe, but their house is a disaster -- everything hit the ground, including shelves, cabinets and their contents, dressers, tvs, etc. Broken glass everywhere, and their house is shifting enough to have them fear structural damage. Please be in prayer for them and so many others on the Big Island who will be having a difficult time.

This is a little disjointed, but it's been a long day and I don't have the energy to edit for clarity just now. Sorry, I hope you can stumble through. I'm off to bed!