No Water...and now...EARTHQUAKES

Yes, you read right. I experienced my 1st earthquake and it was NOT fun.

For the past few days, we have had our water turned off several times a day, sometimes hours at a time. Our toilets were getting icky and showers were at a premium. Luckily, we are prepared with multiple huge 3 gallon jugs of water to use for simple washing, etc. As soon as the water is back on, I refill them, so we should be ok. Apparently, there is a water shortage on the island so it will probably be common for a while.

Well, that was annoying enough and I was already moaning and groaning about that situation when our world shook...literally.

(I snagged this pic from Chuck's blog...thanks Chuck, hehe)

Today, while Nate was taking his nap and JT and I were playing, the building sort of shuddered. I thought, "Wow, that was weird." And then, it shook again, harder, and harder, and harder.
This went on long enough for me to process that we were in the middle of an earthquake and to yank Nate out of bed and pull both boys under a door frame. As I stood shaking and nervous with both boys glued to me...I saw our ceiling fans swinging, heard our glasses clinking in the cupboard, and the furniture bob around. I knew the building was swinging because I watched the view out our windows shift back and forth. It only lasted, maybe 30 seconds, but it was plenty for me. Our books shifted and a couple of Legos fell, but nothing was damaged. Luckily, JT wasn't scared and Nate slept through the whole thing. Now, I don't know, if it is because we are several stories up that it felt strong or if everyone felt the same thing.

After, I realized it was over...I headed onto the terrace to look out onto the ocean...because I am a dork and I was afraid of tsunamis. I knew if the water started to recede, we were in trouble. The ocean was still beautiful and there were no waves at all. Several sunbathing neighbors down at the pool yelled up to me, asking if I had felt it and if the kids and I were ok. I was a nervous wreck because I wasn't sure if it was really over so I tried calling Daniel but the phones were down. I hate being alone during scary things!! I kept thinking about how to keep the boys safe. As time went by, I calmed down and became a rational person again.

According to CNN, the earthquake was a 7.2 and was centered about 260 miles south of here near the island, Martinique. Luckily, it was far enough underground that the shocks we felt weren't as strong as they could have been and there is no tsunami danger.

I worry enough about hurricanes and now, I have another worry to add...earthquakes. I love it here...but it sure is an adventure and at this point, I can't WAIT to go home.