She would always have me anxiety ridden over a storm. They unplugged everything when a storm was approaching, turned off the television and made us sit quietly until it passed.

I don’t remember being too afraid of storms before Hurricane Hugo, but my grandma changed that for sure. I will say, now, even to my own kids, I always express concern for storms and that they need to be safe. They watched me stress out over a storm coming up. If I was in a car and it looked like a storm up ahead, I would turn and go another way. I wanted a house with a basement just so I could go downstairs if there was a tornado warning, I like to call it a safe haven.

My grandma isn’t here any longer, but I will never forget the sleepless night of Hugo and the next morning sitting with her: “We need to go to the basement,” “It sure is getting bad,” and my grandpa, who was a war veteran, saying, “Hush Edith, we are OK!”

The older I get, though, I enjoy a good storm, as long as I am at home or in a safe place, but I am always looking at the weather before I head out. I am thankful for grandma’s precautions that kept us safe and protected us during the spring and summer storms.

Nikki Lackey, Maiden, a member of Rutherford EMC