June 16 2021

Just spent one of the worst hours of my life. I was getting a massage (thank goodness I was nice and relaxed), and when done I had texts from Thomas and Lillian. A fire right across Mt Rose Hwy, from our place. Couldn’t tell if the mandatory evacuation applied to our address.

Took me an hour to get home due to road closures, usually takes 15 minutes. I was near hysterical at the Mt Rose Hwy roadblock, letting them know my kids were home alone. We’re all okay now. Ready to evacuate if it looks like it’s gonna jump the highway, and they order an evacuation. 😱🔥😱

Good thing Thomas has experience with Lillian having a meltdown. Because, let me tell you. She had one. Lots of screaming in the background, as he and I stayed on the phone the entire time. Whew!

I was on the verge of parking my car and walking/running home. Momma bears don’t play! Everyone is calm now. Whew!

I didn’t even get to enjoy the immediate effects of it! I was about to pay my massage therapist and saw all the texts from Thomas and Lillian. I texted her when I got home, and she said, “Now you need another massage.” Gurl! You got that right! I’m trying to relax into it now. Whew!

Helicopter dropping water.

So grateful that Thomas remained calm. The fire is contained now. Two helicopters continue to drop water. All of Team TLC are calm now. Momma Bear may have been on the verge of hysterics, but I was ready to park my car, and walk/run the rest of the way home to my kids. Whew!!

June 17 2021

We are just fine. All is calm. The fire was 40% contained as of 3 hours ago. We don’t have tornadoes, hurricanes, extreme weather (often), and usually only mild earthquakes. What we get starting about this time every year, are fires. We are used to having them. However, this is the first time one has been this close.

As a family, we learned a few things we still need to work on. I think Lillian may always have a meltdown during these times. This is a girl who had to be forewarned about fire alarms/drills when she was in school. Hopefully, we can shorten the duration, and/or have them be less intense. She was calm by the time I finally made it home! That was good on her part! She was texting with friends, and I think that helped.

I’ve just added to my “to do” list to create an evacuation checklist to hang on the cork board, should this ever happen again. We already have an emergency backpack loaded with supplies.

An interesting thing that happened for me, perhaps highlighting the cords between a mother and her children. Before we began the massage, I asked my massage therapist to get my phone out of purse and put it next to it so we could hear it if it vibrated, in case my kids need me. She did that. Neither one of us heard it vibrating for some reason.

During the session, near the end, I began to have something like a panic attack. My anxiety levels were high, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I nearly screamed, but kept myself calm thinking perhaps I was releasing some crud lodged in my muscles. That would have been the exact time that Thomas and Lillian were texting me. Interesting. And next time, that phone is going to be on the table with me!

Thank you to everyone for your kind comments and concerns, and to those who have reached out (that live close) so that I will have backup helpers should we need it in the future. 😍 (Photo of Team TLC from November 2018)