The Yellow Door Life

One of my dad’s favorite movies was The Wizard of Oz.

I never understood why.

He didn’t particularly like musicals. 

But he found greater meaning in it I suppose. Meaning, I didn’t understand until I moved to Tennessee. 

…

I’ve spent my entire life obsessed with tornadoes. From watching The Wizard of Oz, to movies like Twister and Night of the Twisters, I’ve spent a lot of time wondering how I would deal with a tornado should it ever cross my path. 

I’ve spent countless nights dreaming about tornadoes and horizontal rain and green skies and trying to find shelter. 

At one point, I actually considered booking a trip to Oklahoma during tornado season to go storm chasing – Helen Hunt style. 

Instead, I moved to Tennessee. 

…

Since moving here in September of 2022, I have been through more tornado watches/warnings than I ever imagined. 

On March 30th of 2023, I had my first experience of having to take shelter with a confirmed tornado on the ground and heading directly for Columbia. I prayed in circles, for what seemed like hours, for the twenty or so minutes we sat in the hallway listening to the wind. That tornado broke up just before it reached the edge of town. 

On May 8th, 2024, I stood in the hallway outside my classroom as we began afternoon dismissal. We had already been put on a tornado watch and all after-school activities had been cancelled by the county. I could see the dark clouds rolling in from my window and told the kids to be safe. At that moment, I looked outside again, and it seemed as if the whole 6th grade hall went silent, and I heard a distinct voice say, “Something is going to happen. You need to prepare yourself.”

I know when God speaks to me directly. It’s clear. The language is precise. So I knew. 

After the kids left for the day, I prayed over their safety and for everyone commuting home from work. We had a faculty meeting afterschool, so we all gathered in the library, but we could all feel something was building outside. When we were finally dismissed, I headed down the road toward the church. It was Wednesday after all, and I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to see Chipotle Church guy. 

In the middle of mass, everyone’s phones went off with the tornado warning. Father looked up and said, “you all may head downstairs to shelter if you want, but I am going to stay here and finish saying mass.” 

No one in the church even flinched. 

After mass was over, I stepped outside to see massive black clouds moving quickly across the sky. I didn’t process that the threat had not subsided. 

I dashed through the pouring rain, got in my car, and headed to Chick-Fil-A. It was Teacher Appreciation Week, and Wednesday was a free chicken sandwich, and I wasn’t going to miss out on that. 

From the parking lot, I could feel something in the air that hadn’t left. I looked at my phone and saw all my co-workers frantically discussing a touchdown on the road that our school is off of. There was a confirmed tornado and it was moving in the direction I had just been hours earlier. 

I got back in my car and went home to check on my mom and the dogs. 

We ended up being off of school for a week and a half after that as crews worked to clean up all the damage. 

March 2025 was a crap show. Between allergies, a sinus infection, dog injuries, financial stresses, and exhaustion, no one was more ready for spring break than me. When severe weather was predicted for March 30th again, I just figured we would get that nasty business out of the way early in the week and I would enjoy the rest of my break. 

If freaking only. 

From late Sunday night into Monday, we spent several hours on and off in our shelter spot, aka my hallway. The dogs were confused. Spike cried from his kennel not understanding what we were doing to him. When the first wave hit, I sat down in the hallway ready to ride it out. I could hear the storm moving in, but what happened next felt like deja vu.

The summer before 7th grade, mom and I took a massive road trip which ended in Orlando, FL. We went to Universal Studios and one of the attractions I remember most was “Twister” (I’m telling you I am obsessed). The attraction is supposed to simulate what a real tornado would  feel like, complete with rain, wind, lightning, and fire. It wasn’t until March 30th, 2025, that I realized how accurate that attraction had been. 

It was very quiet. That calm before the storm thing is accurate as can be. Then you could feel the wind wrapping the house. It felt like it was hugging it from every possible angle. The blinds were all shut but suddenly every window was lit up in bright, white lightning. Then, the power went off and you could hear the rain pelting the walls and windows. 

It felt just like that day at Universal Studios, except I was at home and this was far from entertaining. 

The tornado threat eventually passed, but the power was out all night. I worried about losing all the groceries I had just bought. I struggled to get any sleep. Between my portable oxygen concentrator and my emergency tank, I ran out of oxygen. 

By the grace of God (again), my home was not impacted by the EF-1 tornado that had touched down just one neighborhood over that night. 

Eventually, the power came back on and the birds were chirping outside my window, like nothing had even happened. 

…

This pattern continued ALL week. I have never needed to know the expression “weather fatigue” until this week. And know that I know it, let me just say, I am not a fan. 

…

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t still obsessed with tornadoes. I am. But I realize some of that obsession is actually fear. 

Not really fear of the funnel itself, but the fear of unpredictability. 

In Twister, Helen Hunt’s character says of a tornado she experienced as a child, “You’ve never seen it miss this house, and miss that house and then come after you!” 

Tornadoes don’t care who you are. There is no rhyme or reason to which house they destroy and which one they leave untouched. A tornado can touch down and just as quickly retract. With conditions like that, we are all vulnerable, and that is equally frightening and exhilarating. 

Regardless, the severe weather threats this week have reminded me just how important it is to have an emergency plan, even if you don’t know how or when you may need to deploy it. 

I’m deeply saddened by the losses the communities in my state have suffered this week. The tragic loss of life. Of homes. Of memories. I’ll never understand why tornadoes hit one town and not another. All I can do is put that back in God’s hands and be grateful for my safety. 

…

I’m sitting here on April 5th, 2025 and we are at the edge of another storm system that could produce large tornadoes. 

I think the point God is trying to make is that there are always going to be storms. Storms in nature. Storms at work. Relationship storms. Storms of faith. No matter what kind of storm it is. You have to push through. Your life is on the other side of that storm. 

So here’s to all the storms in our lives that are going to propel us into what comes next.

❤