Jamie Patterson Managing EditorThe sound of hail hitting our metal roof woke me up about 4 a.m. Thursday.
And the thunder clapped so loud one time that a few motion- activated toys in our son James’ room went off like crazy.
Oddly enough, both of our kids slept through the entire thing.
Ever since the April 24th tornado almost two years ago, severe weather makes me nervous and jittery.
I managed to get back to sleep, but my husband Jason pretty much stayed up to watch the news and catch all the weather warnings.
A couple of hours later, I woke up to get ready for work and the rest of my day. Putting the coffee on, the sun was shining bright outside. I began to think about baseball practice for later that afternoon.
“Apparently we got something severe coming in about 15 minutes,” Jason said.
And he was right because within minutes, the sky turned pitch black. The wind picked up speed, and the rain began to hit hard.
I quickly began to get ready for work because I just knew the power would go out. After I put the final brush of mascara on my eyes, the lights flickered and then completely went out.
“Do I need to get the kids in the pantry,” I asked, throwing my hair in a ponytail.
“Yeah,” Jason said, who already had started putting shoes on a sleepy James.
Changing baby Elsie’s diaper, I admit I was beginning to get scared. Ever since the last big tornado that ripped through Yazoo County, I take the weather very seriously.
Grabbing Elsie and about three bottles, I sat her down among pillows and blankets in our walk-in kitchen pantry.
James was right behind us. Jason stood outside the pantry, looking at the weather.  
“The weather is just getting bad right now, and we have to hang out in here until it’s over,” I told James, rubbing his head.
“Are we gonna have to stay in here forever,” he asked, with a concerned look.
For a moment, I forgot about the weather and laughed. I explained to him that it would just be for a little while.
Like many in Yazoo that morning, we were glued to what information we could find about the weather. I really started to get nervous when a relative called us and told us something was happening near Myrleville Road, close to us.
And then all of a sudden, the trees stood very still. The wind slowed down. It just felt really weird.
I began to pray to myself to take care of my family because I wasn’t sure what was going on.
“Momma, does this mean we won’t have the Easter party at school,” James said, leaning over in my lap.
For some reason, the fear left me. I looked down at James and smiled. One little sentence from my four-year put me at ease, and I am still not sure why.
Even baby Elsie playing with grocery bags on the floor calmed me down. She was giggling and grabbing cans of soup and a few Pop Tarts to play with on the floor.
And then it was over.
The rain stopped, the winds quit blowing so hard, and the sun began to come out.
The power remained out so we all huddled in the master bathroom with a candle to brush our hair and teeth. I even put Jackie Gleason in The Honeymooners on the battery-operated DVD player for the kids.
We made it to school that day, complete with our goody bags for the Easter party. And I made it to work feeling a little better when I heard nothing serious happened with the  weather.
After hearing accounts that a tornado almost came down but then quickly went back up without touching ground, I was so thankful. Something bad could have happened, but it didn’t.
After the deadly tornado that came through Yazoo in 2010, I am almost dramatic when it comes to severe weather. For once in my life, I saw what a tornado really does when it comes down.
That possibility of a tornado again frightened me Thursday morning.
But just as fear settled in my stomach, two little children brought me back down to earth. With James in my lap worried about an Easter party and Elsie banging a Pop Tart in my face, I smiled.
I don’t think they realize just how strong they really are at times.