I will never look at the sky the same way again...

Note: All pictures were taken by myself the day of the storm via my cellphone.

Some of you who know me in real life know that I live in Western Massachusetts. I have lived in New England my entire life and have always taken comfort in the fact that it's a pretty damn safe place to live. Save for the occasional heavy snowstorm, which we are used to and know of days in advance, it's always calm here.

I love that we don't get earthquakes, hurricanes, extreme temperature fluctuations, tidal waves or tornadoes. It's boring here and I like it that way.

However, June 1st hit and that all changed.

It was unusually hot and muggy outside. I was folding laundry and watching the news while the AC pumped the good stuff. A weather alert came up and warned us that the storm front coming in could produce hail and was favorable conditions for a tornado. I snickered at this because, seriously, it's Massachusetts. That shit rarely happens here.

But then my ears popped. I stretched my jaw and swallowed. Weird.

Then the dogs went nuts. Huh?

Then the power went out. WTF?

Then the back door slammed... Shit...

I ran to the kitchen to shut the door and looked out the window.

Wow. There it was.

A fucking tornado.

Our house is set up on a small hill, which gave me the terrific and terrifying view of the twister touching down behind behind my neighbors and moving quickly (and slowly?!) towards me.

You know those moments where things move in slow motion? This was one of them. I had one calm but direct thought.

"Fuckshitfuck. That's a fucking tornado. Get the dogs and get into the basement."

I grabbed The Monsters and literally threw them down the stairs. I ran to the garage to grab their leashes, snagged my purse off the counter and bolted down after them. I could hear the roar of the wind and debris slamming the house. As I tied the dogs to a support pole that was cemented to the floor, I felt the house vibrating. I cried and screamed and watched the windows pulse.

I don't actively believe in God, but I won't lie and say I didn't pray.

After what felt like an eternity, everything went silent. Scary silent. I waited for a moment and tried to stand up and move.

I opened the bulk head and peered out. My jaw instantly hit the ground and I could not believe what I was seeing. Roof missing. Houses impaled with trees. Trampoline in a pool. Busted windows and disabled cars.

All I could think was "This is Massachusetts..."

Digging my cellphone out of my pocket, I called my husband.

Me: (crying) Honey, you have to come home. We just got hit by a tornado...

Husband: (slightly condescending) Now honey, are you sure it was not just a bad thunder storm?

Me: YES I'M FUCKING SURE. TURN ON THE FUCKING NEWS!

That was the last time I was able to communicate with my husband via phone. Over the next 4 or 5 hours, I would get notice that I had a voicemail and would be able to listen to it, but not able to call out. I could not text out but was able to receive, though they came in large groups. I ended up going to my neighbors house, who fed me beer and kept me sane until my husband could make it home through the wreckage.

Our neighborhood was closed for a week by the National Guard and power was out for about as long. As it turns out, we were lucky. The tornado originated in my town, but grew in size and strength as it moved across the county. It was eventually classified as an EF3 and a total of 3 people lost their lives.

I could likely write for hours about my experience, my neighbors shared stories and how I don't trust New England anymore. However, for now, I think I am just going to try to get through this summer and not beg for a Xanax every time I see a thunderhead over my house.

It's hard to change the way you think about some things, and really, really, really easy for others. For my entire life, tornadoes were just a theme of a movie or something that happened in the Midwest. Now? I have a new found respect (peppered with hysteria) for Mother Nature. I will never, ever look at the sky the same way again.