Tillie here! And I’ve got a little story to tell you…
As you may or may not know, Whimsieville is situated in a part of these great United States that is sometime prone to severe weather. Before we Whismies got here (that is…before this place officially became Whimsieville), there were some big storms that caused a lot of damage in nearby areas. We Whimsies are fortunate we were not around for those storms. But Miss Chrissy and The Man were, and even though they did not directly suffer injury or property damage, they are well aware that Bad Weather can be a mighty power which one does well to respect. And they do.
When conditions warrant it, Miss Chrissy and The Man do not play around. They have a PLAN. And they have a PLACE where we all go to wait out the worst of the weather. Last night was one of those times.
I will tell you right up front that fortunately for us, last night the weather never really got too bad. There was a lot of rain (a LOT!!) and some thunder and lightning, and the wind blew the leaves of the trees
around quite a bit, but that’s all. Still…you never know when weather might get dangerously bad, so it’s a good thing to know what you’re going to do in case it does.
The first thing we do, because The TV Weatherman can tell us pretty accurately when Bad Weather is expected to come our way, is to get into our most comfortable jammies and make sure we know where our Blanket is. Then, when all that is settled, Miss Chrissy puts us in this portable carrying case, which is just big enough for three jammied Whimsies and their favorite Blanket and carries us to the Safe Place. Mr. Squee comes with us too.
The Safe Place is a room with no windows, and a lot of clothes and boxes in it. None of the outer walls of the Safe Place are directly exposed to Weather. A storm would have to blow the entire house down to reach us when we are in our Safe Place! So, it’s not safe from everything (because there is nothing that is absolutely safe from everything) but it is as safe as can reasonably be expected.)
In the Safe Place there is a radio with batteries, in case the electricity goes out and the TV won’t work anymore. If we can’t hear the TV Weatherman on the TV, at least we can listen to him on the radio. There are also flashlights and a couple of “flameless candles,” which are really cool, because they look just like a candle, but there is no actual flame that might burn you.
Miss Chrissy and The Man have a couple of bicycle helmets tucked away in a corner of the Safe Place. If the Weatherman ever said the weather was getting REALLY REALLY bad, they would put those on. They would also put some money and some Important Papers in their pockets, and keep it all safe there pinned down with a safety pin.
Luckily, last night was not like that.
In fact, last night, we just mostly listened to the rain and the thunder and the TV Weatherman, and watched the lightning, and stayed alert, ready for anything. We were ready, ready for anything…and nothing happened. And that’s a good thing.
Except for poor Tessie. She’s a bit sensitive. Sometimes, I would even say she’s timid. I think maybe the possibility of bad things happening reminds her too much of her experiences from years ago, when she was abducted from Miss Chrissy’s clubhouse by wolves, and they bit off her earlobe. It was a terrible, terrible time for her, and even though she usually doesn’t think about it (she doesn’t ***dwell on it) sometimes the memory can come back pretty strong and make her feel more afraid and anxious than she actually needs to feel.
Tessie got like that last night, huddling down way deep in the carrying case, afraid to move or even talk, so Trixie and I tried to calm her down and reassure her that everything was going to be all right.
At least, I tried to reassure her. I can be very practical and level-headed, most of the time. Trixie, on the other hand, though she also has had some terrible experiences in her past, will occasionally surprise us by going in the complete opposite direction. Swimming pools bother her, but strangely, rain does not. In fact, she thinks rain is a lot of fun! Well…as long as she is safe and sound under a roof, and even safer yet in the Safe Place.
Last night, Trixie wanted to stay in the Safe Place all night, and listen to rock and roll music on the radio, and use the flashlights to play games with Mr. Squee. She kept wanting to try on Miss Chrissy’s bicycle helmet, which of course doesn’t fit her — not even close! She went rummaging around in the boxes and running through all the hanging clothes, thinking this was all one big lark.
So! As you can see, between Tessie cowering in the Traveling Case and Trixie running about every which way, I really had my hands full! It was such a relief when the TV Weatherman finally sounded the “All Clear” and Miss Chrissy carried us back to our room, where we promptly pulled the blanket up to our chins, turned out the light, and finally settled down for a good night’s sleep.
Oh! I hope we don’t have too many more nights like that one! It’s much too exhausting for me! But the “silver lining” to this “cloud” is that we can be thankful nothing really bad happened. And the other silver lining is that we are ready (as ready as we can be!) in case Bad Weather ever threatens Whimsieville again.
