I've felt a couple of small earthquakes since I first arrived here last summer, but most of the times the cause for the house shaking has not been the primal forces of nature but some of our overly enthusiastic neighbors in massive pickup trucks driving well above the speed limit and sounding like they need muffler adjustment. One in particular also has been known to share his love for music with heavy bass even into the early morning hours of the night.
Thus, when I was abruptly brought to wakefulness by Janelle's insistent shaking (well, she grabbed me and the earth was doing the shaking), I first thought that one of them was the cause. My fuzzy-headed logic quickly sobered when it felt like our rather solid bed turned to water and the entire room rolled like it was on the high seas. My mind still didn't register danger, but rather an almost scientific curiosity about the phenomenon. I immediately began to mentally compare it to the only other sizable earthquake that I've experienced. Rather than run for cover, or to gather my children, I was trying to look at the floor and walls for the wave-like signs I had seen so many years ago. Meanwhile, Janelle and I were discussing how strong of an earthquake it was and what steps we might take, but I have no real memory of the actual words that we said.
The sound of something falling brought me out of my reverie, springing me out of the bed to drunkenly run towards my sons' shared bedroom. I only got as far as our door before I had to steady myself as the house continued to rock. I managed to open the door and was greeted by black furry lightning as Satin bolted through the open door and immediately under the bed. Gripping both sides of the doorframe, I pushed myself laterally a few feet to the next open doorway (the bathroom) and gripped its molding to steady myself again.
By this time the waving had subsided to mere tremors. Ranger had fiercely attached himself to the top of the loveseat with his claws. He gave me a bewildered look that seemed to say, "What the hell did you do this time?" and moved his mouth like a meow, but no sound came out. I gave him one comforting stroke (which may not have been the wisest idea) and he immediately rubbed into my hand rather than bite it (which I appreciated as my own nerves needed calming).
With the practiced steps of a man who often must blindly negotiate presents left behind by his pets, I made it the next few feet to the boys room and opened the door. All of the boys were soundly sleeping. As the tremors had faded and my mind was still too foggy to think of the concept of aftershocks (which we thankfully didn't feel), I decided that I didn't want to wake them.
I returned to bed and reported the condition of the boys to Janelle. I then laid back down and tried to fall back to sleep. My heart was pounding for a little while, but I felt more tired than anything else and was able to fall asleep soon enough to not notice Rowen get into my bed an hour later--at least, not until Janelle started pushing into my side of the mattress (he ended up claiming about half of the bed for himself).
Our morning inspection showed no cracks or issues with plumbing or gas. As we have nothing really hanging on our walls or on display, the only fallen objects were the pieces of Janelle's as-yet-unassembled desk and a plastic bucket that we use for Carcassonne. Considering that the earthquake registered 7.1 and was under 70 miles away, we were pretty fortunate. All told, I kind of enjoyed the experience in a rollercoaster-esque fashion, but I wouldn't want to do it again anytime soon.
Thus, when I was abruptly brought to wakefulness by Janelle's insistent shaking (well, she grabbed me and the earth was doing the shaking), I first thought that one of them was the cause. My fuzzy-headed logic quickly sobered when it felt like our rather solid bed turned to water and the entire room rolled like it was on the high seas. My mind still didn't register danger, but rather an almost scientific curiosity about the phenomenon. I immediately began to mentally compare it to the only other sizable earthquake that I've experienced. Rather than run for cover, or to gather my children, I was trying to look at the floor and walls for the wave-like signs I had seen so many years ago. Meanwhile, Janelle and I were discussing how strong of an earthquake it was and what steps we might take, but I have no real memory of the actual words that we said.
The sound of something falling brought me out of my reverie, springing me out of the bed to drunkenly run towards my sons' shared bedroom. I only got as far as our door before I had to steady myself as the house continued to rock. I managed to open the door and was greeted by black furry lightning as Satin bolted through the open door and immediately under the bed. Gripping both sides of the doorframe, I pushed myself laterally a few feet to the next open doorway (the bathroom) and gripped its molding to steady myself again.
By this time the waving had subsided to mere tremors. Ranger had fiercely attached himself to the top of the loveseat with his claws. He gave me a bewildered look that seemed to say, "What the hell did you do this time?" and moved his mouth like a meow, but no sound came out. I gave him one comforting stroke (which may not have been the wisest idea) and he immediately rubbed into my hand rather than bite it (which I appreciated as my own nerves needed calming).
With the practiced steps of a man who often must blindly negotiate presents left behind by his pets, I made it the next few feet to the boys room and opened the door. All of the boys were soundly sleeping. As the tremors had faded and my mind was still too foggy to think of the concept of aftershocks (which we thankfully didn't feel), I decided that I didn't want to wake them.
I returned to bed and reported the condition of the boys to Janelle. I then laid back down and tried to fall back to sleep. My heart was pounding for a little while, but I felt more tired than anything else and was able to fall asleep soon enough to not notice Rowen get into my bed an hour later--at least, not until Janelle started pushing into my side of the mattress (he ended up claiming about half of the bed for himself).
Our morning inspection showed no cracks or issues with plumbing or gas. As we have nothing really hanging on our walls or on display, the only fallen objects were the pieces of Janelle's as-yet-unassembled desk and a plastic bucket that we use for Carcassonne. Considering that the earthquake registered 7.1 and was under 70 miles away, we were pretty fortunate. All told, I kind of enjoyed the experience in a rollercoaster-esque fashion, but I wouldn't want to do it again anytime soon.
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