Dreams and Reality.

I had a horrible dream last night and it's clear why.

As we were settling in for the evening I saw "earthquake" and Japan in my Twitter feed.

My emergency alert antennae were activated and I immediately turned CNN on and was floored.

Not only was the earthquake reported at EIGHT POINT NINE off the coast of Honshu, but I was watching near live footage of a tsunami flooding the island like some horror movie.

I was literally watching lives being lost and the destruction made me nauseous but I was so captivated I couldn't turn away either.

I watched Twitter and CNN and Facebook and the NYTimes website all night, I couldn't sleep. 

Then when I did, I was a top a hotel in San Diego.

The kids were swimming in the ocean and I was watching them from the roof. 

Then the earth shook, the hotel shook.

In circles.

Like when you swirl wine in a glass.

The ocean turned into a tsunami and I watched the kids taken inland with the rush of water.

The hotel I was on collapsed and I am sure I was going to die.

I didn't. 

I landed inside the hotel restaurant where I saw my brother playing poker.

I was frantic searching and looking and crying and shrieking for my kids.

I don't remember seeing my husband there, but I heard his voice.

I found a pool where there were people who were rescued, but my children were not there.

I felt empty and alone.

Then I woke to K giggling and my son singing, "one more day to my birthday, one more day to my birthday!"

Then I heard the SLAM of the bathroom door as my oldest does best.

Everyone was okay. 

My husband snoring softly beside me.

It was 6am.

I remember the dream so vividly and was so depressed.

Yet so incredibly happy it was only that.  A dream.

The Japan quake and tsunami not a dream.

News back on, Twitter feed rolling. 

Warnings for Hawaii and the West Coast.

We are safe. 

Though so many are not.

Bad dreams suck, but real life sometimes sucks more.

Californians, the Weather, and Earthquakes

Only in CA will you find a boy walking to the high school in short sleeves and shorts on a 47 degree morning, I'm sure he's betting on at least a high of 55.

Only in CA will my little almost-5 year old ask on a clear, sunny, crisp 57 degree December day, "Can we put the pool out, I'm hot!"

Only in CA will you get Californias all excited when an earthquake hits, then hits again, then hits again all in 24 hours! 

Only in CA do we throw around numbers in conversation like 3.7, 2.0, 4.1 and we're not talking grade point averages!

Yesterday we were shaken awake by one of those 4.1's.  Earthquake that is.  Normally something you go "WHOA!" and then fall back asleep to.  But, all the kids woke.  Mainly because DQ was freaking out.  A few things fell from her bookshelf and she doesn't like the sound of walls moving around her uncontrollably.

I don't blame her. 

It can be scary.

I was driving a driver's education car in the Loma Prieta quake of 1989.  Trying to remind myself, the right pedal is the gas, the one to the left was the break and trying not to drive with two feet.  My teacher marked me down when I did that.

Just as soon as I reached the stop sign, a rumble passed beneath the car.  I don't remember running over a bear, but that's kinda what it felt like. 

I looked across the street and saw a facade of the building where my hairdresser worked fall straight down to the ground. 

It was surreal.  The car was bouncing, people were running from buildings, my driver's ed teacher was yelling at me!

"Turn around!  Wait, get out, let me drive!  We need to get back to the school.  I need to find my kids!"

When the rocking and rolling and shaking stopped,  we flew down the street, the teacher mentioning to us to never run stop signs and speed as he was doing to get back. 

Only a few blocks from home, I walked from the school to find our backyard soaked like a rainstorm had hit.  The swimming pool  had sloshed water about and I ran inside to see what else was amiss.

The kitchen floor was covered in broken dishes and nerves were shaken.  News of the quake and how hard it hit the bay area was on the radio as the World Series was going on at the time and was suddenely interrupted.

7.1 was the initial report, though I think it was reduced to a 6.8 later on. 

I told DQ that story last night after we were hit with 2 more shakers that registered 3.7 and 4.5.

She was even more scared and has permanently left a blanket and pillow on the floor in our room, just in case she has to run in there and sleep in the middle of the night.

Now I'm scared.