Thundersnow? Probably a no.

Well, it’s April. And it’s freezing out. But I refuse to turn the heat on, as tomorrow it’ll be close to 60° and the weekend will be back to downright perfect.

Still no storms, though.

But today TX got their weather’s worth. Semis tossed like toys. Tornadoes springing up across the radar. Almost 3,500 lightning strikes in 15 minutes. And so far, the good news: no confirmed fatalities yet. It’s definitely nice to finally hear that folks are heeding the warnings.

Should an event happen where I’m close by, at least I can say I’m finally more prepared. I completed the CERT (Community Emergency Response Training) this past Saturday. We dealt with people trapped, broken limbs, and general chaos. All of it was arranged and acted out, but it was so realistically done that I feel like I got a ton out of it.

I was brought way out of my comfort zone. First scenario, I helped a search and triage/search and rescue team. We went from the outdoors to indoors, searching every room on every floor. I could tell when I did something right (someone would break character and nod or similar), or something wrong “yeah, don’t do that or you’re ‘dead’.”

Second scenario I was 100% out of my comfort zone, when I was elected Medical Officer (leader, whatevs). If you think it’s chaos when an emergency situation occurs, imagine the chaos when victims start being brought to you, and you have to decide “is this person going to be okay? Get better? Are they going through shock? Where are they wounded and where did they come from? Can I remember their name?! But again, it was training and I couldn’t be more thankful. I had the opportunity to ask questions, and even some of the “victims” broke character to train our team.

This weekend was yet another example of facing my fears and learning what I’m capable of. If I can, anyone can.

PS, it’s April. That means baseball, but more importantly, real storms ready for the chase. The countdown to my first victory has begun!