We all just experienced our first earthquake! Shortly after 1:00pm (after putting Andrew and Margaret down), I heard rumbling and things started shaking. At first, I thought it was a train going by. Since we live about 100 yards from the tracks, we hear and see it often. Correction. We used to hear it often. Now we don’t, unless we’re outside. In seconds it became clear that it was NOT just a train. My immediate thought was that a train had jumped the tracks and was barreling through the neighborhood…not a rational thought (in large part b/c of the huge ravene b/w our neighborhood and the tracks), but these are not rational moments. Simultaneously, I thought Andrew was having a party in his room. When he jumps on the floor, the chandelier in the dining room beneath him rattles. It started rattling like crazy and I heard so much other noise that I knew his two little legs jumping up and down couldn’t possibly make that much noise.
Suddenly, I just knew exactly what was going on. Even without having ever experienced anything like it, I somehow knew exactly what it was. I flew upstairs to check on the kids, to make sure no hangings were falling off the walls onto them. I didn’t say a word as I opened each of their doors. Margaret popped up, but went right back down. Andrew was actually close to falling asleep (he often doesn’t sleep anymore). He just peered at me, but didn’t say a word. No sooner than I decided NOT to scoop them up, the rumbling and shaking stopped. I stepped outside and talked to my neighbor, Heather. She confirmed my suspicions. I turned on the news to hear validation that there had been a 5.9 earthquake about halfway b/w Cville and
Richmond. REALLY?!?! By the time I turned to CNN, it was "the quake that rocked DC", as if the epicenter hadn't even been in VA.