I work further out from the city and reasonably close to home so I wasn't concerned. The boys were being picked up by their Gran and I thought of canceling that and heading home early to pick them up myself but no-one at my work seemed too worried and the weather seemed fine, even on my drive home at 5.00pm.
Tavis was home when I got there and I suggested I call his mum and offer to pick up the boys and spare her the drive given the forecast but to be honest I wasn't in the slightest bit worried. She reluctantly agreed (trooper that she is) and I set off on what became the scariest drive of my life - everything turned out fine and no-one was harmed at all so I don't want to sound melodramatic but the way the light poles and traffic lights were swaying in the wind, the proximity of the lightning and the sudden slowing of the traffic due to poor visibility or driving through tree debris across the road, and then the sudden loss of power to all the street lights made it pretty scary, not to mention the anticipation of someone doing something really stupid at any moment.
As I drove my senses were heightened as though I was under attack and in survival mode, it was quite surreal. I was constantly assessing the situation and whether I would stay with the boys when I got there and wait for the weather to calm down or head off immediately. When the power went out I thought it better to keep going so that I could see the road in the fading light, and the wind did seem to have calmed slightly, but I was second guessing myself the whole time, questioning whether I was being foolish to go back out there.
As it turned out the drive home was fine, just a bit of quite normal rain. Did I put the boys and myself at risk unnecessarily? Was I ever at risk in the first place or just a scaredy cat who rarely drives in less than ideal conditions? When I occasionally drive at night I notice that it is different to what I am used to and tonight I was certainly appreciating the safety aspects of our subaru for the conditions.
When I got home Tavis said he'd tried to ring me on the mobile but heard it ringing in my bag on the bench: I had left without phone or wallet - now that was foolish. And very me. Much to Tavis's well disguised despair at times.
Needless to say I was very happy to be home, safe and dry with my precious boys at the end of the day today, I certainly wasn't expecting such drama when I set out to work this morning on a seemingly normal day.
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