That Just Happened...

Perhaps the thing that is dominating my mind these days is the fact that I, we, all of us just went through a very intense and scary war.  This is definitely a first for me, and I feel like I need to write about it so A. I can remember what happened and B. I can get it out because all of these feelings are a lot to keep in my heart.

Part 1

Imagine you're sitting on a beautiful pier over the beach at sunset with one of your favorite people, having a delicious dinner with friends you haven't seen in years, and you get a text message along the lines of "all hell is about to break loose."  Friends, I can't tell you the instant feeling of dread that took over my body.  So many thoughts started racing through my mind:  "We're about to go to war?!" - "I'm an hour and a half from my house, and my dog is sitting there alone." - "Where am I going to stay?" - "What is going to happen?" - "Do I have enough food in my house in case I can't leave?"  I went immediately into survival mode and did everything I could to get home, gather up my dog and some clothes, and get out of Be'er Sheva before the shit hit the fan.  I called family to let them know what was going on and to tell them I love them.  And did everything I could to not panic. 

I jumped off the bus from Tel Aviv about 3km from my house, walking quickly to a city bus that would shuttle me home.  The digital sign said that the bus was to arrive any second...and it didn't come.  And the air got too still.  And I was still innocent thinking that I could get out in time...

The absolutely sickening sound of the air raid siren cut through the night air, and I've never felt more naked or vulnerable in my life.  I was in the middle of the road, between the hospital and the university, and my gut told me to run.  My legs grew a meter, at least, and I was flying.  I found the gate into the hospital where a security guard frantically pointed me to an open door.  I stood in an interior hallway, heaving from the distance I had covered in such a short amount of time, and watched the other horrified faces who had followed behind me and who had streamed in from various places in the hospital.  One siren after another, four or five in total...and then ten booms in a row of rockets being intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system.  I could feel the reverberations in the air, and when just barely enough time passed, I bolted out of the hospital because I HAD TO GET HOME. 

I could still smell the explosions in the air.  I hugged the security guard as I ran past, because, well, we had shared a moment when I was at the most terrifying point in my life, and I considered him like family now.  "Welcome to Israel, huh?" I shouted as I ran from him to a taxi.  No way I was walking home after that.  Of course, my key fell to the bottom of my purse as I frantically tried to get inside, only enough time to hug Pepper before the next siren sounded.  And then another.  And all night, we had sirens and booms and terror.  The next morning, I couldn't even make a cup of coffee without being interrupted three times with sirens, and I threw my hands over my head and screamed at the ceiling, "OH COME ON!"  My mind was numb, my body was tired, and I didn't know up from down at this point. 

And that was only the beginning.  The first 12 hours of the madness!  Until next time...to be continued...