We started with a crazy storm Monday evening that hit soon after I got home from work. It looked ominous the whole drive home, the sky was about to fall. It started with some heavy rain, and then the thunder and lighting made their way in. I hadn't heard until I was back in my room that there was a tornado warning for our area. At 5:00 almost on the dot, there was this HUGE crack of thunder that sounded like it was right on top of us. Within a minute the announcement was made that everyone needed to make their way to the basement, which is where mine and Alyssa's rooms are located. The one side of our hallway has multiple rooms without windows, so we left our own windowed rooms and stood in the hallway, waiting for the Sisters to start making their way in. Everyone gathered in the rooms and in the halls. It was pretty cool having everyone down here, our hall is usually so empty and quiet. Needless to say, it was quite the experience and I had fun sitting and chatting for awhile.
Now, in the midst of all of this, there was already a planned dinner being held here at the Mount for the local fire house that responds whenever there is an alarm or emergency here or at Benetwood. Everyone was wondering if it was still on due to the weather. Roads were flooding, power had to be going out places, we weren't sure if the firemen would be able to make it. Just before 6 we were told everything was still on as planned, and we would be able to go back upstairs.
It was great getting to meet everyone from the firehouse, and I think it's wonderful that the Sisters hold a dinner for them to show their appreciation for all they do. After dinner was done, the Chief got up to say a few words, which included "I need a couple of able bodied volunteers." Every head in the dining room, including everyone from the fire house, turned to stare at Alyssa and I. Clearly, we were being volunteered.
We both got up and stood behind two full sets of fire suits. The deal was that we, with the assistance of a firefighter, were going to race each other into the suit, complete with face mask and oxygen. We were told they have to complete this task, unassisted, in something like a minute and a half. So the race was on, the winner would be the one who got their oxygen mask on and flowing first. Alyssa was fully dressed first, but couldn't get the oxygen to flow because her mask didn't fit properly. After much arguing with the zipper on my jacket, I quickly got everything else on and managed to get the oxygen on. But that wasn't it, we then had to parade around the entire dining room with our 80 pounds of gear on, in boots and pants that didn't fit in any capacity. The Sisters were absolutely in hysterics during this whole thing, it was priceless.
It was honestly an absolute blast, and something I'd kind of always wanted to try. The things they manage to get us to do in this Monastery, it's crazy haha! If it made everyone smile, it was totally worth it to me. I wish their was a video of this whole thing, but the pictures are pretty sweet too.
 |
| The race begins. |
 |
| Getting the oxygen on |
 |
| The winning team |
 |
| That would be the Chief jumping in on our photo :) |
No comments:
Post a Comment