Tornadoes & SPT

I’ve been a little down; I think it’s the weather. Someone told me that the coming of a storm often brings out the sadness in people, and children become difficult and teachers typically have awful days dealing with it. Maybe that’s what is happening, I’m becoming difficult because of the weather. We were teased with sunny days, green grass and the wearing of shorts. Now it is cold again. I guess it can’t last long; spring is definitely due to come. But that brings anxiety as well with it. Spring is tornado season. When we decided to move out here for school, everyone talked about the possibilities of tornadoes. Last year there was a really big one in Iowa, and it destroyed several homes and lives in Iowa City, tearing through the town in a fury. I guess that’s what tornadoes do; they only have fury and destruction in them. It doesn’t help that every time I turn on the TV there is an advertisement from the local news stations, saying things like, “How to protect your family for tornado season this year” or “Iowa City, devastated by a tornado, make sure you stay on top of the weather by tuning in” or “A tornado tears through a school killing five and leaving terrified children in it’s wake. Are your children safe?”. Not something I want to think about, especially living on the third floor of an apartment building. I’m not sure what I would do if a tornado ripped through Des Moines, I think I’d just pray and hope for the best. Tom assures me that I shouldn’t worry. The other day he told me that Talin’s school would be fine since its a hundred years old and has never been torn down by a tornado yet. That’s comforting, thanks.
On another note, it’s self portrait Tuesday. “Plays Well With Others”. Do I play well with others? It depends on who you ask. I’m competitive and often times quite beastly. But I enjoy playing. My favorite thing to do is to play games. I love card games and board games; I could spend hours playing these. Whenever there is a group of adults together, that’s what I want to do, play a game. I love any holiday because it’s a time to break out the cards and play some shanghai, or spend a few hours playing monopoly. It can bring out a nasty side in me though, I’ve been known to make people cry (sorry Cassi), and it also brings out a really silly side of me, I will giggle and say things that I regret in the morning. Almost as if I was a drunk, but instead of alcohol, I gorge myself on games. I have played a few times with friends in Iowa this last year, but not nearly as often as I would like. The crazy me came out at Thanksgiving and I think I scared a few friends while playing Skip Bo. Maybe if I promise to be calm, nice and a little less giggly, I can convince them to have another game night.
(This is really pathetic, but I got really excited just getting my cards out to take this picture. And thank goodness for the timer, I'm not very good at holding the camera and taking the shot.)