On Thursday morning before school, I packed a little extra food in the girls' lunchboxes. Then I gathered them around me for a mini lesson in emergency preparedness. I told them that before they got on the bus to come home that afternoon, they needed to make sure their water bottles were full, and go to the bathroom. Because - duhn duhn DUHN - it was going to rain.
A storm was supposed to blow into town right around the time that school got out. When it rains here, everything and everyone goes a bit crazy. The streets flood, and drivers either abandon their cars or endure the resulting gridlock, where it can take three hours to go three kilometers. I was worried that the girls' afternoon bus ride would take a lot longer than usual, and I wanted them to be prepared.
Well, as it turned out, the UAE Ministry of Education ordered all schools to close at 10.30am, so the girls were home well before the worst hit. I was glad I wouldn't have to worry about them being on the roads when they flooded.
The thing is, though, the storm didn't come that afternoon. It drizzled a bit, and that was all, until about 4.30 on Friday morning. Then it stormed and stormed and stormed. It was beautiful - Sterling and I sat up and watched it.
So it was a false alarm, but a very exciting one for the girls. And we got our storm after all.
A storm was supposed to blow into town right around the time that school got out. When it rains here, everything and everyone goes a bit crazy. The streets flood, and drivers either abandon their cars or endure the resulting gridlock, where it can take three hours to go three kilometers. I was worried that the girls' afternoon bus ride would take a lot longer than usual, and I wanted them to be prepared.
Well, as it turned out, the UAE Ministry of Education ordered all schools to close at 10.30am, so the girls were home well before the worst hit. I was glad I wouldn't have to worry about them being on the roads when they flooded.
The thing is, though, the storm didn't come that afternoon. It drizzled a bit, and that was all, until about 4.30 on Friday morning. Then it stormed and stormed and stormed. It was beautiful - Sterling and I sat up and watched it.
So it was a false alarm, but a very exciting one for the girls. And we got our storm after all.