Movin' and Shakin'

So the East Coast had a pretty impressive earthquake, by our standards, just a few days ago.  The epicenter of that quake happened just a short drive away from where I live.  Needless to say, that 5.8 was pretty darn scary in these parts.  My little man was taking a nap when it happened, and I am sure having his mom yank him up out of a deep sleep (after a rather comical attempt at running down the hallway to get to him in the midst of a shaking house) was a bit of a rude awakening.  My other kids were in school, and it was pretty scary for them as well.  None of us have really been through an earthquake, at least nothing of this magnitude.  Luckily for all of us, other than some pictures and other trinkets down, and a good bit of emotional wear and tear, we are all very well.  We find ourselves to be fortunate, because sadly some friends of ours were not as lucky.  Some have homes that are unable to be lived in, and some have lost some very precious items in the quake.  Also, sadly, we continue to have some pretty significant aftershocks ranging from a mere 2.2 up to the most recent 4.5 at 1:10 this morning.  It is quite unnerving to say the least. 

So, here on the East Coast this is quite a rare occurrence, especially the size of a 5.8.  I realize that on the West Coast, this seems like quite a small deal.  Over there, I am sure that a 5.8 is just a drop in the bucket compared to some of the quakes that they have seen.

Here is my frustration.  Even though this quake was felt from as far south as Atlanta and as far north as Boston, and I am sure even further, people have taken to making quite a bit of fun of the situation.  Pictures showing the "devastation" of the earthquake to include post it notes on the ground, chairs knocked over, a pen on the floor, and the like.  Even The Today Show took a chance to make light of the situation.  The Today Show

Now you have to know that I am one to be able to take a joke.  I like to think I have quite an active sense of humor.  But these kinds of things, I find in very poor taste.  Not because I have some big devastation story to share, or there were multiple deaths or buildings reduced to rubble for a 5 mile radius.  But because this is a very real, and very scary situation for those of us who experienced it.  Each person has their own story to tell.  We have a local school that is closed due to the amount of damage as a result of the earthquake.  Kids who don't know when they will start school, people who don't know how long it will take to fix the damage in their homes, children who are now scared and startled by every sound they hear that mimics that of the earthquake.

Sure, it wasn't the devastation that Japan has encountered.  But the fear remains the same.  Making light of it, just really pisses me off to be honest.  Parents sitting in their homes experiencing an earthquake only to become frantic afterward because they couldn't get a hold of the schools where their children were.  Are they safe? Are they scared? Did the school even know how to handle evacuating the children to safety? Was anyone hurt? How can I get to them? We had no cell phone service because the lines were so blocked with individuals trying desperately to get a hold of their loved ones to find out if they were safe. Friends frantic to get a hold of their besties to make sure all was well.

To me, none of that is anything to make jokes over.  It was and still is very real, and at times very terrifying.  There is ALWAYS someone in a worse situation than you.  That doesn't mean that your struggles are any less because they aren't as tragic as someone else's struggle.

So I want to send a big shout out to my dear friends who called to make sure my family and I were safe.  My friends who texted one another to see if they had spoken to us to make sure we were okay.  My dear friend who called the school for me to try to check on my kids because I couldn't get a call out.  I also want to thank my amazing friends who live on the West Coast and have not once asked me to suck it up and be glad it wasn't worse.  Your kindness and compassion is much appreciated and humbling.

And to those of you who are posting on links and saying that we are all just too sensitive and need to get over ourselves.  Kiss my ass. I'm just keeping it real here.  I really wanted to be a lot meaner ;)

KW