Eye of The Storm

    Last week I was on vacation as many of you know. I was at the beach enjoying my time with my family after driving for almost twelve hours. Instead of coming home right away we decided to stop in Williamsburg for a night. We stayed at Great Wolf Lodge and we were supposed to go on a ghost tour too, but thats when the storm hit!!!

    My family had started our afternoon a the Great Wolf Lodge where we had a blast in the water park. We went down some huge slide and spent plenty of time in the wave pool and in the lazy river. After being in the humidity for a week, we were kind of ready to get out on the town. We went to the classic Cheese Shop for supper and attempted to go on a ghost tour. We checked in and then the storm hit!!!

       As we were standing in line outside, waiting to "check in", we started seeing a bunch of lightning. The lightning was the typical cloud to ground lightning, but the horizontal stuff that many individuals call heat lightning. I on the other hand, being the weather expert knew this was not heat lightning as there is no such thing as that. I proceeded to get hung up on the idea of this huge storm when my dad decided to look up the weather. There was a HUGE thunderstorm coming our way. We got to the front of the line and mentioned that there was a storm brewing and that there was lightning in the sky. The tour guides response: well we do the storm in the rain, but not in the lightning. Lets wait a few minutes. I about freaked. I didn't want to go now because as she said this my dad also saw a severe thunderstorm warning pop-up.

       We checked-in and we proceeded to join the rest of our group as we waited for others to get checked-in. The lightning continued and the wind picked up. We continued to complain about the storm and the tour guides response: well we have a river on either side of us; the storm normally goes up the river and we'll be fine. My opinion: you just said that we don't do the freaking tour in the lightning. We then proceeded move back over to the side and then my dads phone went crazy!!!

       There was a tornado warning. A tornado warning means that a tornado has touched down within a certain proximity to that specified area and that it could be heading your way. We let them know and what did they do??? They decided to go hid under an umbrella and discuss what the heck they should do with us since they never had this happen before. Well first of all take us inside; you should at least know to seek shelter when there is a tornado. They finally refunded us and we went back to our car.

        Once we were all settled in the car, the hail started. Yes, the hail started and the lightning continued with absolutely no thunder. We finally got back to our hotel and everyone had evacuated there hotel rooms and had gone to the basement for safety as instructed. The kids, pertaining to my brother, his friend and I. waited inside while we waited for our parents. Our parents finally got inside and the warning had been lifted. We then headed to bed. I really wanted to share this story because of my sensory issues and my anxiety. I do have to say I handled this situation fairly well.

         In the beginning, when I first saw the lighting, I was just fixating on it. I would repeat over and over "wow there is more lighting" and "there is a lot of lightning within one minute, look" to which my parents told me that we were okay. Well the weather people tell me that you need to seek shelter when you hear thunder. That could be before you even see the lightning. I was a little anxious, but I hadn't started stimming or crying yet. Then we checked-in.

          The idiot at the front who checked us in, really ticked me off. That is when my nasty attitude about the weather started. I was overwhelmed by people talking about tornados. I didn't want that to happen and I was convinced I was going to be caught in one. Well guess what I experienced hail for the second time in my life!!! I know i live in a very safe area of the country. I never really had a full meltdown which was pretty impressive. I did get a little loud, but that was about it.

      I think I have come to the realization that my fear of storms is extremely complex. It starts with the knowledge of how dangerous storms are. I then start to perseverate on that information. It then continues with the sensory issues. The darkening of the sky which for me, is a huge change as I am sure it is for anyone really. Then the wind starts to blow which I can be a little sensitive, but I am typically okay. Is one of those weird issues that bothers me sometimes, but not others. Then the rain starts which I have a serious tactile aversion too. It literally makes my arms hurt when rain touched my skin. This is followed by the lightning and then the awful sound of thunder. This storm I got anxious, but i didn't get overwhelmed.

        During this awful storm, I became anxious, but I didn't become overstimulated. There was no thunder to get me overly excited and there was no rain that hurt me. when I compare this storm to others that I have witnessed while enjoying the outdoors, I definitely see a strong correlation between my actual meltdowns and the rain and thunder. There was none of that when I was outside.

        When we got back to the hotel, there was a lot of commotion. My anxiety immediately rose again when I heard the warning system going off. then there was the evacuation of the people coming from the basement. This caused more commotion for me and caused me more anxiety even though I was inside. We finally got up to our floor and I was ready to head back to our room. I distinctly remember my mother looking out the window into the waterpark as I followed behind. At that point I did jump up and flap a little bit. At that point I decided that it was okay. I would never see these people again and I was doing fairly well.

        I think I have really learned a lot from this experience. Its not the sensory issues or the knowledge. Its not even the anxiety, but its everything combined. Let me say, that swing hanging above my entry would have really helped me to calm down. If I was anxious on my vacation that is where I went. I would close my eyes, deep breathe and lay back. :)