The Big Wave

I had just finished putting the boys to bed on Thursday night. I was looking forward to a relaxing evening hanging out with Scott, watching all our favorite shows, and going to bed EARLY. I walked into the kitchen and Scott said, "Ashley, you gotta see this."

 The footage from Japan was like something out of the movies. We watched in horror as the water swept away cars, houses, farmland. It wasn't long before they mentioned the impact this earthquake could have on Hawaii. Before we knew it, tsunami watch turned into tsunami warning. Sirens began blaring. Huh? What? Is this a drill? What the heck are we supposed to do? Do I wake up the boys? I had not the first clue of how to prepare for this type of potential disaster. Tornadoes, piece of cake, but tsunami?? I was guessing that crouching in the bathtub with a mattress on our head would not help us here. Were we even in an evacuation zone? I have no idea. Graciously, one of Scott's coworkers called us and told us to run to the grocery store and buy water and fill up every empty container we had with water just in case our water supply was compromised. We figured out from the front of the phone book that we are not in an evacuation zone (our house sits up high on a hill, and we live in the 2nd story).

We are the red dot

The man on the TV said the first wave should not get here until around 3am, so at about 11:30, we went to bed and tried to get some sleep. I knew that we were 3000 miles from Japan, so obviously the tsunami couldn't be as big here, right? But, when I closed my eyes, all I could see was that news footage. I dreamed of huge walls of water coming right for our house. Us, scrambling for life jackets. Waking up to sirens every hour did not help. Finally at 2:30, I woke up and could not go back to sleep. I turned the TV on and waited. At around 3:30, the cameras at Waikiki beach showed the water recede until the entire reef was exposed. Yikes! Isn't this when the huge wave comes plowing through town like a jet liner? Instead, steady waves approached the shore until finally the beach looked normal again. That was it?! Coast is clear. Go back to bed. Yeah, okay. Needless to say, 6:00 came very quickly after my head hit the pillow again. The boys woke up bright and early as usual and were none the wiser. Thank you Lord that a crisis was averted and we are safe.

No longer will I take for granted that I live on a coast (especially one with frequent seismic activity). I'm making a list of things that I want to have ready the next time the big wave comes our way. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers for us during this scary ordeal!