Tornado Warning

Dear Jack,

I just got out of the bathroom. Normally I wouldn't announce this to the world, but I was in there with you and your sister because there was a tornado warning for the area and I wanted to keep you safe.

Your father swears he doesn't think I was overreacting, and I know a lot of other folks nearby did just like I did. But I will tell you that while you and your sister and I were in the bathroom, on the phone with Mrs. Hazen (who always watches the Doppler), your father was in the sunroom (that is the room in the house with the most windows, the room that is really just an addition to the house and is probably the least structurally sound) watching TV.

I kept you safe by putting you in the safest room in the house. Your father kept you safe by watching the weather reports and looking around to see if any bad-looking storms were actually on our street. I used my best judgment to decide that the threat of bad weather was worth waking your sister up and dragging her into the bathroom with us. Your father used his best judgment to decide that the storm probably wouldn't really hit us and he would rather be watching the storm than holed up in a bathroom.

The thing I really want you to know about this whole tornado business is that your father didn't belittle me for worrying when he really wasn't and I didn't make him sit in a bathroom, hiding from a storm that he didn't think was that big of a deal. We didn't fully agree on what was the safest course for the evening, but your father trusted me enough to let me take you and your sister to the only windowless room in the house without judgement, and I trusted him enough to let him not go with us.

Your father and I don't always agree, but we try to trust each other, especially when your (and your sister's) safety is on the line. Because that's what really matters to both of us.

Love,
Mom