6.1.11-6.1.12.... 1 year later...

They say you will never forget where you were when something life altering happens. For my parents, it was things like the death of JFK. For their parents, it was things like the depression, albeit a bit longer than the death of a prominent American President. For me, it used to be 9/11. A freshman in college, in my dorm room, getting ready for my 9:20 history class (coincidence....). That was until June 1 of last year. Because now, I measure things BT and AT. Before tornado... after tornado... It wasn't that I was injured, and thankfully, (luckily?), the building I was in at the time remained standing, unharmed, probably by the grace of god if you know where we were located... I'm not saying this isn't something life altering for people in "tornado alley" who are more, dare I say, accustomed to this, because when it strikes, I KNOW it's life altering. But for a small town in Western Mass, life altering doesn't do it justice....

Tomorrow marks 1 year since the tornado. A lot has changed since then. You can see forever in my small hometown. Parts of it are reminiscent of being in the Midwest, where it's flat for miles. While there are still hills and valleys, the path through them is empty. From the top of the hill, you can see for what feels like forever. It's only a couple miles, but in a town like ours, where most people can barley see their neighbor's house because of the tree cover, a couple of miles feels like a lifetime.

This past year has passed quickly. There were SO many highs and lows to this year, that it's hard to believe it was all packed into 365 days. So much has changed for so many people and still, continues to grow and change. "the tornado" is a topic of conversation in our town any number of times on any given day. The impact on each individual life varies greatly. Some of us have a seemingly unnatural fear of an impending thunderstorm (me, for example) that I hope will continue to diminish as time passes... I know I will continue to be much more cautious, and at least for a while, scared. I'm ok with admitting that.

There are positive things that came from that day.... Strengthened relationships, new ones formed, and a bond that joins each of us who were impacted on that day....

Tomorrow, I will probably listen to my two saved voicemails from one year ago... One from boyfriend, concerned, just trying to find out if I was ok, and one from my dad, who was just down the street at the time of the storm. Running down to see him in the aftermath is something I'll never forget... He should have been driving home and probably directly into the storm...hugging him is a moment I will never forget.

We change constantly. June1, 2011 should have been a simple day. Instead, it is a day that forever changed my life.... In so many ways.

"How do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, In cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife."

There are plenty of ways to measure this past year... Especially in our small town. We measure progress and growth and change. And tomorrow, we celebrate the passing of 365 days... One year later.