The Morris Chronicles: Earthquakes, Birthdays and Other Natural Disasters

At approximately 2pm on August 23^rd—Henry’s birthday—a rare 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook Washington, DC. The quake lasted several seconds and resulted in only minor damage to the area (the exceptions being the National Cathedral and the Washington Monument, both of which sustained some structural damage; also, part of the ceiling in our church collapsed, severing an arm on the main crucifix). The most immediate collateral damage to us was that the kids had to be evacuated from their daycare center in the middle of afternoon nap. By the time we got home (after spending most of the afternoon camped outside SEC headquarters), they were both tired and cranky. Henry cheered up after opening his birthday presents. He’s been infatuated with Spider-Man for several months, and he got plenty of Spidey-wear for his birthday, including a full body costume, light-up shoes, and snow boots (thank you, Mimi Mimi Pauline!).

Henry’s birthday party was scheduled for the following Saturday. He requested a Spider-Man party (naturally) and, as entertainment, we booked a live reptile demonstration. However, Mother Nature decided to wreak havoc with our plans. Hurricane Irene began churning up the East Coast on Friday and was scheduled to arrive in the Washington, DC area by Saturday evening. With the storm bearing down, we frantically rescheduled the party for Saturday morning. Unfortunately, the rain began just as the party started, so we had to move everyone indoors. It was a tight squeeze, but the kids seemed to have a good time nonetheless. The reptile demonstration was awesome: the instructor brought lizards, turtles, frogs, a tarantula and a Burmese python for the kids to see and touch. As the birthday boy, Henry got to help the instructor hold the animals. Afterward, we all had BBQ, hotdogs and, of course, Spider-man cake. We were fortunate that our friend, Christine Lee, kindly offered to assist with the party logistics. Without her help, we would have never survived a house full of preschoolers and live reptiles in the middle of a hurricane! As an added bonus, Mimi Joanne and Paw Paw Bill drove straight through from Mobile to attend the party and helped us weather the storm (which, in the end, was only “a little rain storm”—as Paw Paw predicted).