Real Life Drama: Update

Remember the situation that the kids and I were involved in a few weeks ago? I am not exaggerating when I say that every other day or so since then I have been receiving phone calls and emails asking me if I'm okay; even as recently as today. There have been no less than 30 individuals overall who have approached me about this situation that they saw on the local news. This afternoon I found it interesting to reflect on how my friends and family reacted after seeing or finding out about this news story:

1) Most of the people who called to check on me actually waited at least a few days before contacting me. They all said the exact same thing: they figured that so much was going on and I probably didn't want to be bothered. They guessed that I would just want to spend time with my family. Most of them sounded really shaken, even though they already knew I was okay by the time I spoke with them. Their genuine concern really meant a lot.

2) A few people contacted me the same evening or the very next morning! These individuals are not people that I'm in intimately close relationships with (i.e. My VP, a few of my managers, friends from middle/high school, etc...) It was so thoughtful for them to get in touch with me immediately, even though I'm not in close personal relationships with them.

3) A few of my friends didn't know about it until I brought it up to them. Some of them responded in anger that they missed out on the opportunity to be there for me during the situation. That meant a whole lot as well. Seriously, it feels wonderful and is very comforting to know that people care.

My favorite of all, though, is my hairstylist. I spoke with him over the phone today; here's a snippet of the conversation:

Stylist: "Girl, did I see you on the news a few weeks ago?"

Me: "YES!! OMG, drama right??"

Stylist: "Girl yes! But I was happy for you."

Me: "Oh, thanks!"

Stylist: "Yes, your hair was looking fierce that night!"

ROFL!!! I LOVE my stylist. :-)

Real Life Drama

Most of you have already heard about the episode that occurred in my life this past Wednesday, November 14. Have you ever had SO much to say that you didn't know exactly how to even begin? Yeah, me too.

This past Wednesday I left work at 3:30pm to go visit my grandmother who is still in the hospital. I left the hospital at 5:15pm to go pick up the kids. You may remember from a previous post that since my mom's retirement, she has been watching my daughter during the day while I work. After my grandmother got sick and became hospitalized almost a month ago, I started taking my daughter to the home of Mrs. Thomas, her friend and fellow church member. Mrs. Thomas runs a daycare in her home. She called me about 5:25pm to inform me that I would have trouble getting down her street because something was going on which required the DeKalb County SWAT team to block off her street. I thanked her for letting me know, but I figured that by the time I got there at 6pm to pick up the kids, whatever was going on would be long over. I was wrong.

Instead of typing and typing, I'll just post the video here. Everything ended safely. DeKalb County SWAT team is the best. They were so loving and gentle with the kids. My one regret is that I didn't get the chance to thank them for the way that they handled everything. Thanks to those of you that I spoke to while this was going on; you helped me keep my nerves calm. Also want to thank the VP of my division at work who actually emailed me immediately after watching the news story. He told me to take a free day and spend it with my family (just another reason why I know that I'm blessed to be working at Turner).

Video coverage DURING the standoff (You will see me being interviewed)

Video coverage AFTER the standoff (You can see me carrying my daughter, and my dad carrying my son)