Well, we survived.
I was home yesterday with the kids and dogs, and we all managed to survive the eclipse. I was so impressed with the kids and their knowledge. We hadn’t talked much about it with them, but they were giving me some info yesterday while we waited. Caden was especially focused on some of the media coverage (ABC had TJ Holmes on campus, The Weather Channel had Jim Cantore), and he even made sure to let me know when it would be safe for us to remove our glasses during totality.
Totality.
Occasionally we’d step outside with our glasses to check what was going on–and I found myself getting excited, like a little kid, hoping the clock would move faster—the countdown was on.
For someone who was pretty skeptical, I wasn’t so sure about this total eclipse. The crowds, the people coming in, the chaos. And you know what–it really wasn’t too bad until Monday (or so I am told. We didn’t leave until Monday evening).
Friday we had to venture out (yikes!) and get some dog food. We were very prepared for traffic—we had a full tank of fuel, we even fixed drinks, but you know what. Friday was like another evening out and about in our area. We had to drive around campus to see what was happening, and it was pretty calm. We giggled about it and even said “where is everyone?”
Saturday was a bit of the same–after some cleaning and sorting through laundry, working on school materials, I ventured out to Marion (we had to check both sides of us–Carbondale and Marion). You know what? It was okay. No major traffic jams, no empty shelves, just a regular Saturday evening in southern Illinois.
Sunday was the same—we noticed a little more traffic as we headed to the lake, but honestly it wasn’t too bad. We also wondered if the news/media made such a big deal about the influx of people that locals were terrified to leave. We actually ventured out all weekend—after we were convinced we needed to be in all weekend because all the people would be here.
Yesterday was very amazing. I was so proud of my kids for wanting to really participate (and not fall into mom’s attitude that it would be overwhelming)—they enjoyed their time prepping and enjoying the Eclipse. We went out near our “time,” and we noticed the temperature dropped, the sky was changing, and the noises around us were even changing. Glasses on—we saw something very beautiful—only the handiwork of God.
I was moved to tears twice. Once while we were outside, and then watching the coverage of my area, my small part of the world in southern Illinois—simply breathtaking.
So while we may have been avoiding the pre-eclipse chaos, it was really something magical, awesome, amazing, thrilling, and incredible. There was some traffic out of the area, but yesterday evening all was right in Cambria–it was a typical Monday evening, and the shelves at Dollar General still had food/supplies on them.
I hope you were able to see the eclipse, check out some of the local events. Ozzy Osborne was just five miles from our house (and played during totality). There were a lot of local businesses and areas that saw visitors from all over the world. I hope there’s as much excitement (if not more) when people return to the area in 2024.
Taking it all in—totality—before and after from our backyard.