The East Wind of 2011

It has been years since the Wasatch Front has had an east wind like we did a few weeks ago.  Some areas received so much wind damage that it reminded me of photos taken after a hurricane or tornado had passed through.  Our area was hit with strong enough winds that we would stand in our home and watch our neighbors fences blow down, one after the other.  Other friends lost huge pine trees and after dropping our kids off at school (which was cancelled just a few minutes later), one tree lost all its huge branches.  They blew across the parking lot and several other mothers and one father helped lug those heavy things out of the way.  We then came home and watched the shingles from everyone's home blow off their roofs and felt our house shake during those wind gusts.  It was a crazy day!

The sweetest sight occured later that day, after winds had subsided.  We saw a pack of kids coming up our street, pushing wheelbarrows that weighed a lot more than they did!  These wheelbarrows were full of shingles that had blown off the roofs and the kids were collecting them from everyone's yards.  It was just the neatest thing to see.  It was itchy work but they made it look like so much fun that Hayden and Sydney ran out to join them in cleaning up the rest of the neighborhood.  It reminded me of the Pied Piper!  The group just kept getting bigger and bigger.

I wondered what parent suggested that activity.  I wished I would have thought of that...not that I wanted to be THE one who thought of it, but I wished my thoughts would have turned to helping others sooner than it did.

I did not get a photo of that group of kids...I so wish I had.  But at least I have one of Hayden blowing off our driveway later that same day.