The semi-calm before the storm!

Tropical storm Sandy is on her way!  There is a certain kind of excitement that inclement weather always brings.  The vibe lately has been similar to the vibe before a big snow storm.  Schools and businesses are shut down and we are all home together, enjoying the down-time.  However, we still have power!! I remember the tropical storm that left us powerless for 48 hours last year...totally not fun! I am not sure where to focus my worries....either with both sets of our parents who live AT THE BEACH AND REFUSE TO LEAVE or with us....way more inland, but also at the top of a hill.  Our house feels like it is going to blow over on moderately breezy days, so I am terrified thinking about the winds that we are expected to get tonight.  Well, I think we are as prepared as we can be for now.  So we just wait and see...

Lately, I have been losing sleep over the horrific news stories around the area.  I go back and forth between the 10 month old baby and grandmother who were murdered in King of Prussia (a couple towns over where my sister-in-law Kristin lives) and the family in NYC who lost two of their children to stab wounds from their trusted Nanny.  I keep replaying the scenarios in my mind just wondering what the families are doing right now.  When I put myself in their shoes, I try to figure out how I would even be able to continue breathing.  I don't know if stories in the news have become worse and worse over the years or if this new, intense level of empathy is something that accompanies parenthood in general.  I feel like with each new addition to our family comes an added layer of worry.  I don't think it totally consumes me, but I feel like I have to constantly pull myself out of it so it doesn't take over.  I know it's out of my control.  Accidents, illnesses, crime....not a whole lot I can personally do to stop it.  My friends and co-workers all think I am so easy-going, relaxed and calm.  I really don't know how I put up this front!  Greg knows I am a mess, but I seem to have many others fooled.  My dentist can certainly see the stress in my teeth / gums!  I wonder if I am going to bite right through my overpriced, custom-made bite guard (in my sleep) one of these days.....

Hopefully this storm goes easy on us and we can get back to the normal craziness of our every day lives.  The girls have been counting the hours until Halloween and we are still trying to figure out our next move as a family.  We decided that step one is getting out of our house, so we hope to be ready to put a for sale sign outside soon.  We haven't gotten to step two yet, but I'm sure I'll be talking about it sooner or later!