Day Eighteen and Nineteen

The biggest blessing of day eighteen was that we moved back into Joplin today.  It was short and sweet.  One of the easiest moves I have ever done.  Total it took about ten minutes to move all our stuff into the new house.  I got to hang out with a friend and hold her baby for the afternoon.  Josh went back to work for the first time since the storm.  I got all our laundry done.  I was able to watch some television today and tried to get used to creating a “new normal”.

We got all our stuff packed up and moved to the new house that we are staying at.  A friend has a house that she is not living in very often and wanted us to stay there for a little while.  She works all over and is not home often.  She said we can stay until our apartment is ready which is about a month away.  I am going to be able to cook and unpack some of our stuff while we are there.  It has been incredibly frustrating to be looking for clothes and not be able to find anything.   I do not mean my favorite shirt.  I mean underwear, matching clothes, pants.  When I have been looking for pants, I would only find shirts.  I have worn a lot of dresses because of this. 

Josh went back to work today.  It was weird.  I have never been a wife that needs to be with her husband all the time.  Josh and I regularly hear that it is neat that we spend time away from each other.  I think it is very healthy.  However, I am struggling with being alone.  I feel a sense of panic when I watch television or do regular things.  This is all related to stress and trauma.  I have seriously considered going to a counselor to discuss these issues.  I obviously have not done so yet; another thing to put on my list of things to do. 

We went out to eat again after Josh fixed our hosts computer.  We then went to see a couple of friends and then went back to the house.  We got to sleep in the same bed.  Our new dwelling has a full sized bed.  It really is not that bad considering we have not slept together in almost three weeks.  I am so happy. 

Day Nineteen blessings  include how we have wonderful friends.  One of these friends brought me a purse to use for a while.  I only had one left after the storm and I needed something a little bigger.  We are back in town.  Josh is working.  I do not have to work.  After some discussion with the new job about social work licensure, talking with Josh, and talking with a friend who works at the company, I decided it would be best to not go to the interview.  It was a really good decision for right now and they encouraged me to apply later when things settle down.  I went grocery shopping.  I cooked spaghetti and Josh and I ate it at the house!  I have the best husband ever.

I spent time today mostly for myself.  I am trying to get back to normal.  We are in a place now that I can cook, which means that I got to go grocery shopping.  I also had some spa time.  I got a manicure, but it was just not the same.  My normal salon was also blown away in the tornado.  They have relocated to a beauty college in Webb City, but I just wanted a place to which I was already accustomed. 

I am at a place now where I just want to be able to stop.  I do not mean sit and be still, I mean that everything would just stop and I could go back to the way things were.  I want a “time out”, a momentum shift, a change in pitching, a pause button, etc.  I think you get the idea.  I am tired of being in a place that I am not used to and not ever knowing where things are.  None of the things are mine and I just want to be back in my own place with my own things and smelling my own home.  I have really struggled with this today. 

I had a little break down; alright, truth be told, I went crazy on Josh.  I am not perfect and I am allowed my moments of weakness in this great mess I am in.  It all started when I dropped my iPhone in the toilet.  Yes, two dunks in one week.  I am very concerned that it won’t survive this second drip.  The toilet at the house we are staying at is different than mine and my phone caught on the lip of the toilet as I was standing up and slid into the bowl.  I pulled it out and screamed.  Josh came in and tried to help, which just irritated me.  I wanted everything to stop.  We put it back in the blanket of rice to let it sit.  Then I went to get something out of the pantry and saw a giant spider.  I went to get Josh and when he came to look for it, he did not find it.  This freaked me out and I just started blubbering.  There is no reason for it.  This is when I went crazy.  Josh, in his most loving way, let me be crazy for the moment.  He listened to me as I cried and just encouraged me that we need to be in this together.  I love this man so much.  I know that I would not be able to get through this situation without him by my side.  He has taken care of so much and I know that I would be completely lost on what to do without him.  He has been invaluable to me. 

Day Fourteen...and Fifteen

The blessings on day fourteen were that we were able to get out of town for a little while.  I was able to see all my clothes that were pulled out of the house.  My mother-in-law washed and cleaned all my shoes that survived.  She said, “I may not have washed your feet, but I have come close.” I thought it was incredibly thoughtful of her to do that.  I got to sit by the pool and sun bathe.  We did not have to eat out.  We got to sleep in the same bed after two weeks of bunk beds.

We went to Tulsa to get the rest of our stuff.  After the storm, Josh’s parents took a load of our laundry with them to do for us as we had lots of clothes pulled out of the house.  Some of it was not salvageable, but some was.  It all needed to be laundered because it stunk badly not to mention the amount of debris that was mixed with clothing.  There is nothing to compare the smell of tornado to. 

While I was hanging out at the pool, I threw my iPhone into the pool.  I could not believe I did that and to be honest I am not sure how it happened.  We were all hanging out and I went in side to do something.  When I came out, I picked up my book and my phone fell.  I still am not sure where it came from.  My mother-in-law pulled it out and I immediately toweled it off and tried to take the Otter Box off.  As I was doing this, I think I let water in and it started spasming.  We threw it into some uncooked rice and let it sit over night.  When I looked at it later that night, it was lighting up and doing strange things.  I was really worried.

We went to hang out with one of Josh’s college friends while in Tulsa.  She is moving to India and has some stuff for us to have once we have a more permanent place.  We talked about the tornado and her children.  She always has the funniest stories to tell.  It was really great to laugh.  Then we went back to Josh’s parent’s house to sleep in a queen sized bed.  It was nice to say goodnight without me standing on my tip toes to get a goodnight kiss.

The blessings for day fifteen were that I have lots of winter clothes.  We again went to church.  I went swimming again.  Josh and I were able to talk about housing and many other topics that are very pertinent currently.  Josh and I have wonderful family.  We have finished our insurance list of personal property minus some family items that need pricing.  We were able to back to Joplin somewhat more refreshed and less stressed.  All of our world possessions are in the same place.

Josh and I went to church this morning at his parent’s church.  It was good to go back to a Church of Christ church for one Sunday.  After attending Abilene Christian University, I miss the acapella worship every now and then.  I thought that being in another city would allow us to have a slight break from focusing on the tornado, but even in Tulsa the service mentioned Joplin several times.  It was kind of weird.  I know Tulsa is not that far away, but the media attention is mostly off Joplin and it seems that the focus has shifted to other major news events even though Joplin is still greatly suffering.  The amount of volunteers in Joplin is still strong, but in just one week the volunteers have decreased by half according to church emails and other sources

After church, we went back to Josh’s parent’s home and we ate lunch.  Then Josh and I took a nap.  I know that when a person experiences trauma, their physical needs change.  This is very true.  Josh and I are still not eating properly or drinking enough water.  We are also not sleeping enough.  I cannot say how much we have slept, but I am sure that it is not enough.  We slept for three hours.  It is amazing how the simple things in life, like a nap, can make a person's day.  After this, I went swimming and then we packed up. 

I have lots of winter clothes now, but very little summer clothes.  That means that I will have to go shopping.  Darn.  I am still not sure what survived or did not because I still need to go through all our clothing.  We separated our winter clothing from our summer clothing.  We do not need winter clothing when it is 90 degrees. 

We went back to Joplin.  We got back to the house and talked to our hosts for a while.  Josh and I are planning on moving this week and wanted to make sure that they knew our plans.  We watched a movie and then went to bed, again in bunk beds.

Day Twelve and Thirteen (I am combining to catch up)

Day Twelve blessings were that Josh and I have air conditioning.  We were able to find an apartment.  We got to talk about a lot of things that we needed to discuss during the drive to and from Springfield, Missouri.  We have great friends.  We have the finances to go out to eat, buy gas, purchase things we need, and not worry about what to do next in terms of money.

Day Twelve was very much like day eleven except being in a different city.  Josh and I drove to Springfield to find alternative housing and so I could get my stuff from my job.  I have explained before that I was previously employed as a contract social worker for an agency in Springfield.  I left my notary supplies there as I thought I was going to continue to work there over the summer.  After the storm, I decided it would be better for me to not work.  While there, my coworkers gave me some money.  I was so humbled.  This is a not for profit agency and they gave me money to help with the new costs we are experiencing.  We went to lunch and then drove around looking at apartment complexes and talking with thier staff.  We found a potential place in Republic, Missouri that is approximately one hour away from Josh’s work.  It is more expensive than we want, but could be furnished.  We realized that if we are going to stay in Joplin for the next few months, then we need to be closer to Joplin than Springfield.  There is still so much to do and to be an hour away would make everything more difficult.

We went back to Joplin to have dinner and to get mail from our friends.  We then went to the house and tried to decompress after the day.

Day Thirteen blessings included finding an apartment that is furnished and is within twenty minutes of Josh’s work.  We returned our library books without losing any to the storm.  The weather has been beautiful. Lots of sun and no rain, but it is hot.  We went for a walk.  We have a car that is ours.  Josh has a wonderful job.  We have great friends and family. 

Day Thirteen, we have found an apartment that is furnished!!!  The family that we are living with has purchased a new house and will be moving soon.  The family is trying to move into the new house and once they move the family will do a lot of reorganizing.  Long story short, we will move into the above garage apartment.  I have never been more excited about moving into a 900 square foot apartment. 

We learned that the Federal government is going to pay ninety percent of the demolition cost and the city is soliciting the State of Missouri to pay the other ten percent.  What a blessing.  This has been one thing that Josh and I have been agonizing over since this started. 

We returned all our library books that we checked out for our Miami vacation.  I know this is a small thing, but it means one less responsibility we have. 

I was able to talk with my family, which has been very helpful over the past week.  I have enjoyed letting them know how we have progressed and the celebrations we have over the little things.  I continue to talk with friends on Facebook that I have not spoken to in a very long time.  Some from elementary school have contacted me to lend support and encouragement.  Each person helps spur me on.  Thank you all.

After we returned the library books, we went and watched a movie at the house to relax.  Josh fell asleep, no surprise.  It occurred to me today that we have not really stopped since May 22^nd.  It feels like the days just run together and there has been no sluggish progression of time.  Time just goes quickly all the time because there is so much to do.  Josh mentioned that he wanted to go back to work on Tuesday of next week and this sent me into a panic.  I can think of so much that needs to be done and he wants to go back to work.  I am not mentally able to go to work right now!  The thought frightens me.  I am usually a person that enjoys working and facing each challenge, but I am not the same person right now that I am normally.  I am taking each day as it comes and nothing more right now.  Continue to pray for us as we continue this journey.

Day Ten

Blessings from today included that Josh and I were able to cash our checks from the insurance company.  Our mortgage is paid off!!  We spoke with attorneys and we do not have to rebuild unless we want to.  We were able to register for FEMA.  We had dinner with friends.  I spoke with family.  We were able to deter identify theft one more time.  We were able to obtain an address to use!

Josh and I drove into Joplin with large checks in hand to put into our savings accounts.  It was a very strange experience.  We calculated the amount of our checks and the grand total is almost three times Josh’s annual gross income.  Again, this is very overwhelming. 

Today I sat on the other side of the table.  I was the person seeking services and it was really interesting.  We arrived at the Multi Agency Resource Center, MARC, to fill out and apply for federal aid.  In order to do this we must show proof of residence.  This was not difficult as we both had our driver’s licenses.  Had we been home we may not have been able to produce this.  We were shuffled through the different interviews in order for the Red Cross to identify our immediate needs.  Then we were led to the section that allowed us to connect with the appropriate agencies that we directly needed.  The three agencies that we accessed where Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Post Office, and the Missouri Bar Association.  The Missouri Bar Association was most helpful as they were able to give us guidance on how to proceed with our property.  FEMA informed us on how to proceed with federal aid and will continue to meet with us to make sure that we have our needs met.  The Post Office let us change our address right there and so we did not have to wait in the incredibly long line at the post office.  This entire process made me feel like a sheep being herded from place to place.  Thankfully Josh and I have the personal resources to be able to work outside this system, but others in Joplin do not. 

We then went to our local game store.  The proprietors have graciously allowed us to use their address to receive mail.  We have been waiting for our rent check to come in so that we can deposit it, another large check.  On the way to the game store, Josh realized that he needed to get any personal documents out of the minivan since it will be towed soon.  We drove by and now the area really smells.  The refrigerators are all rotting and the smell of tornado still lingers in the air.  Josh got the documents and we drove away.  I did not even get out of the car. 

After running errands, we went back to the house.  We ate dinner as a “family” and then hung out.  Again, it was nice to just be able to sit back and relax.

Day Nine

Blessings for the day were that Josh and I took a break.  This allowed us to put things into perspective. 

Today Josh and I did nothing towards the house.  We took a break.  We celebrated Memorial Day at the house by swimming, playing games, and seeing friends.  I ate so much that now, as I type this, my stomach is upset because I ate too much.  Tomorrow business begins.  We plan on getting many errands completed and trying to find another place to live.  It is still very overwhelming.  Josh and I planned on moving eventually, but nothing was ever decided.  We wanted to make an informed decision after I was done with graduate school and potentially licensed.  This plan has been totally scratched.  We are totally open to anything that comes.  I am unemployed and Josh is able to go anywhere within his company, within reason.  We are not saying we are moving, but we are also not ruling out the possibility.

We had fun hanging out at the pool and enjoying the heat.  I relaxed and read a book while Josh got to play board games.  It was a nice little breather.  We will start working again in the morning as we still have a lot that needs to be done. 

Day Six

This morning I was able to blow dry my hair, wear sweats and a t-shirt.  This is so nice!!!  We were notified first thing this morning that our insurance company is going to provide us with one year of rent up front.  We do not have to go through our insurance agency in order to get into a house and it does not have to be one of the homes they find for us.  Houses are going so quickly in Joplin that it is very difficult to get into a house, apartment, or shack out back with utilities.  What a blessing.  A high school friend contacted me who is a pilot with Delta Airlines.  He is sending me some buddy passes for people to fly in and out of the area.  We have no immediate need, but this is something that could come in handy in the future.  There are so many needs that we are unaware of that it is just nice to be prepared for things like this.  We have not gotten a flat tire.  We are so blessed to have a car that survived, that I am hoping with all the nails around that we will be able to get out of this mess without having to replace a tire.

I got up and ate one of the best breakfast sandwiches of my life.  When I awoke this morning I was craving a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich.  My hosts had one and it was so good.  Talk about God providing for all my needs when I would have just eaten cold cereal or a cup of coffee.  I was able to watch old “Bugs Bunny” and “Tom and Jerry” cartoons on Cartoon Network today.  It was nice to laugh at nothing as I lay under my newly laundered only slightly stained memory quilt.  I mean now it just has more character.

Josh was in contact with Accenture’s Human Resource Representative who has applied us for the Accenture Charitable Trust Grant for $2500.  We were approved.  She is also trying to get Josh enough PTO for all of June so that he can continue to take care of our little family.  Again the generosity of the people we know has brought us to tears. 

Some of today was very hard.  I do not want to dwell on that.

One amazing thing that happened today was that we got some more of my family heirlooms out of the house.  We went back for a badly mangled table that I was super fixated on.  I know this is stress and loss.  When we got there I was not in appropriate foot attire and as I got out of the car, I stepped on a nail.  It did not penetrate the skin, but I will probably never wear flip flops again.  (This is a rather jaw dropping statement.)  And yes I did get a tetanus shot after we left as a preemptive measure.  As I was sitting in our car, Josh went and got the table.  I decided I would open the door and see who was around and saw that there was a fire department truck from Weber, Missouri.  I stopped them as we needed to get the license plates off our vehicle for insurance purposes and while there they offered to get anything out of the house we needed.  I asked Josh if there was any way our drop leaf table could have survived and he humored me and looked.  It was under our living room wall being stepped on, rained on, and tornado-ed.  Josh and three firemen moved the wall and pulled out my almost intact drop leaf table.  It was amazing.  I realized that this was all I cared about for the most part.  I do not think I will be going back for a while.  It is a strange feeling.

We also met a photographer from the New York Times who was photographing our area.  The New York Times is trying to reproduce the shots taken by Google Earth of many streets in Joplin.  This will give a better before and after shot of our street.  He was saying many interesting things and was going to take some photographs for us and email us copies.  Josh had a great idea to frame some of these images to remind us later that we need to be mindful of how stuff is only temporary.  I have a wonderful husband.

Just to mention, Josh and I were married four years ago today.  May 27, 2007 was our happy day and we are both truly thankful for both being here to share another year together.  We have had a really excellent year despite the tornado.  Over the past 17 months we have gone to 23 states including Hawaii in December 2009.  We have seen many baseball parks and experienced quite a few wonderful things.  I have been blessed more than I could have asked or imagined.  He is a wonderful perfect match for me and I cringe at what the alternative could have been just days ago. 

We received word that Josh’s office has given us money that was a significant amount considering we are in Joplin.  We have received almost $5,000 in donations alone.  This does not include other in kind donations of respite, food, clothing, and airline tickets.  We are truly blessed. 

Day Two

The most prominent blessing from this event was that we were not there!!!  We had two bags full of clothes and toiletries.  We had our computer with all our banking and financial information on it and our camera.  We also had each other and wonderful friends and family.  Our hotel reduced our hotel fee by one night so we only paid one night of our scheduled eight night stay (we stayed two nights). 

I woke up after only four hours sleep.  My phone died late the night before because I overly used it and also thought that I needed to let it die for my own mental well being.  My father called me early and warned me that Joplin was the top news story of the day.  I turned on the television and watched while I got ready for the day.  Throughout the entire day I cried off and on.  It was one of those things that just happened for no real reason most of the time.  I was so stressed out that I could not remember anything.  My husband got up and we went to breakfast and then went to our room to pack up.  During this time frame, Josh received a call from his employer to account for his location.  My husband is an avid board game player, http://boardgamereviewsbyjosh.com/, and was contacted by several fellow gamers that wanted to help.  While we were getting ready, he received an email that basically said that the board game community was going to try to replace as much of his collection as they could.  He was so humbled by this.  The generosity shown made us speechless. 

When we went to airport we were confirmed on our first flight and the second flight we needed to be assigned seats.  While we waited for our flight, we received an email with two pictures of our house from my father-in-law.  We were sort of prepared for this as we had spoken with our friends and family who saw the house.  Sitting in the airport, it is hard to understand the devastation at our house.  I cried again.  It was good to have early expectations so that we did not experience total shock when we arrived.  We were constantly looking at pictures on Facebook and the television at our gate.  Lots of speculations were still being discussed on the national news and there was more detail. 

We flew to Atlanta with no problems and were scheduled to get on our next flight in a different terminal forty-five minutes after our scheduled landing.  We made it to the gate on time and they already boarded the first class cabin and other elite members.  The gate staff then stalled us at the gate for twenty minutes and subsequently canceled the flight due to weather.  During this time, we met and spoke with employees with Wal-Mart who were flying into Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Fayetteville, Arkansas where our flight originated.  They informed us that the store lost nine customers in the collapse.  The pictures they had were awful.  We were able to get on another flight to Tulsa which was again thirty minutes away in another terminal.  We made it and the gate attendant would not even acknowledge me at the gate.  I tried to be very polite and patient but wanted to make sure that I was heard before she allowed all the standby passengers on the flight.  She would not look up and kept repeating that she was closing the flight.  She closed the gate and referred us to customer service.  We have flown with Delta before and had experienced issues and knew to ask for a Red Jacket Supervisor.  We did this as something obviously went wrong.  He came to our gate and saw that somehow our seats were canceled on this flight and he rebooked us on the flight into our original airport later this evening.  We went and ate dinner and bought a phone charger since we lost ours at our house.  We answered phone calls and text messages of people to get updates.  Every where we went all day everyone was talking about the tornado; we could not get away from it and there were so many questions when someone found out we lived there. 

When our flight was delayed enough that we knew we were not going to make it back today, some of our friends were generous enough to go and get our computer out of our house.  Many of them were anxious for our arrival as they wanted to help us search the rubble.  We went to the next gate and waited for the flight.  It was again canceled and we went to customer service and had our flight rescheduled and we had to run to the next gate in another terminal again.  We made it and boarded the plane.  There was more bad weather in the area and our house contents were rained on almost continuously until this point.  Due to the weather, our pilot was redirecting our flight to avoid the severe weather.  We took off and halfway through the flight our pilot requested that the flight attendants take their seats.  Turbulence ensued.  It was nauseating.  After sometime passed the flight attendants prepared to land and took their seats.  The plane was fishtailing in the air...I did not know that airplanes could do that.  It was super scary, but I am sure not as scary as the tornado was.  We landed and left the airport without our luggage because it was scheduled to go to XNA.  We went and stayed with my in-laws and they provided us with clothes and a bed for the night.  We went to the store and purchased some necessities.  Josh responded to several emails and then we went to bed.  It was a somewhat more restful night than the night before. 

The blessings for the day were that we were alive.  We had a roof over our heads and bed to sleep on.  We heard from many of our friends and close neighbors that they were alright.  We had insurance.  We had a car.  Our house still had some structure left which meant that we could try to salvage some things.  We had the financial ability to pay for what we needed to continue.  We had running water and the resources to shower.  These were all important as much of Joplin this night and the previous night did not have power, water, or gas as these were all shut off when the tornado hit.  Gas was leaking in the city and it was very pungent.  Many of our friends were accounted for and knew of no fatalities at that time.  There were 116 dead at this point and over 1500 missing which was astounding and 17 people were found alive in the rubble.

These are pictures of roughly what our house looked like before:

The front of our house.

Our back patio.  The house is attached to the stairs on the left.

This is after the storm and was our first look at our house after the tornado:

I assume this needs no explanation.

Day One

Let me start by introducing myself.  I am a twenty-six year old woman that previously resided in Joplin, Missouri.  As a result of the recent devastating tornadoes, I am now homeless.  This is a very difficult thing to admit.  In this first blog I will start by telling my story and then continue in the following days, potentially years, to chronicle the events that I deem blessing in my life.  These blessing will be a myriad of things which will be explained after the event occurs.

On May 21, 2011 I flew with my husband to Miami, Florida for a vacation that was to last for eight days.  I recently graduated from graduate school with a Masters Degree in Social Work from Missouri State University.  We were going to celebrate this accomplishment and our four year wedding anniversary.  On Sunday, May 22, we woke up and had a very eventful day.  We were staying at a hotel with a roof top terrace that overlooked a pool.  I went out that morning to sunbath and read.  My husband came to get me and inadvertently locked us out of the room for approximately 30 minutes.  We then got ready for the day as were planned on going to a Florida Marlins game.  We decided we would walk to the game as we thought it was just a little over a mile away.  This was incorrect.  We walked approximately one mile in the wrong direction and then had to turn back to get our car.  We drove and ended up late to the game.  The day continued somewhat uneventfully until around 7 eastern.  My husband received a text message from a friend who was watching our house while we were gone.  This text message stated that there had been a tornado in Joplin and they were leaving due to power outages.  My husband immediately called to find out more information.  We were told that they could not get to our house due to electrical lines and trees blocking roads all over town.  My husband then called a couple of other friends asking if they would be able to go and look at our house as we did not know the full extent of the devastation yet.  I went and got on my computer to look and see what was on facebook and other medias as well as googling "Joplin Tornado".  At that time there were very few stories and only one saying that there was a confirmed tornado that hit Home Depot and St John's Mercy Hospital.  I am aware that many of you do not know the geographical locations of these sites but I will tell you my house was directly in between these two sites that are approximately three miles apart.

At first my instinct was to assume that we were fine and that it had missed our house.  I read on a friend's Facebook page that there was news coverage on the National Weather Channel and I immediately turned on the hotel television on my beach vacation, not something I had planned on doing.  I saw St John's Mercy Hospital and did not recognize it.  I remember yelling at the television to tell me the location of where they were standing.  Almost immediately they pulled a local man aside and he stated that they were near 26th Street and Maiden Lane and they did a wide panning shot of the area.  It was terrifying!  I started crying.  What else is there to say?  This was 14 blocks from my house and I was 1500 miles away.  My husband and I talked and I told him we needed to call our home owners insurance to start a claim.  He said that we did not know anything and that it was too early.  I start texting and calling my neighbors and friends.  I get nothing when I call.  Over and over I hear busy signals, messages that my phone call cannot go through, and voicemails.  I start texting.  I get responses.  Josh got a text message around 8 from a friend that says, "I hate to tell you this as you should be having fun, but your house is gone."  Josh called the friend and they talked.  My husband politely got off the phone and said, "Thanks for checking and I really appreciate it."  I am standing in beautiful Miami with my hands above my head in total shock.  What do you do when you cannot do anything?  Nothing...I wanted to bury my head in the sand and say, "No!!!!"  Instead, my husband starts talking about going home.  I am thinking, "to what?"  There is nothing.  I begin texting a very good friend of mine to see if she is alright.  She reports that she is fine, her family was at her mother's home in the basement.  She had her daughter, step daughter, step son, and husband with her and they were all safe.  She said that the children's mother barely made it out alive, but that they were all safe.  I sent out text after text with no response.  They finally start to trickle in.  I called my mother for moral support.  She had nothing to say.  She started the family phone chain.  I had my husband call his family to tell them so that they would not hear it on the news.  I broke a cardnial rule at our house and posted on Facebook that we were not at home and were safe because it was the only way to make sure that people knew.  My husband called the insurance agency to claim the loss.  He called the car insurance company as our car was reportedly the only way to identify our house and it was badly damaged.  My husband called his father to see if he could go to Joplin the following day to get our personal informaiton from a water tight box in our basement.  He said he would.  We took phone call after phone call.  Everyone brought relief and bad news.  We called our airline to try to change our flight and Delta was very generous.  Within only hours after the storm, Delta changed our flight and had us confirmed on a 1:30 flight the following afternoon.  They did not charge us a fee for changing our itinerary and comped our luggage.  We went down stairs to our lobby to discuss an early departure from our hotel.  They said it would not be a problem given the circumstances and provided us breakfast for the following morning.  We went up stairs to check on our friends.  I was glued to my phone and computer all night waiting for more information and updates on my friends.  I could not sleep.  Fourteen hours had passed since we were told of our loss. 

I finally fell asleep after relaxation exercises and a Xanax...