Earthquake

CNN and the local news stations probably covered it better than I will, but just in case Thea and Micah ever read this for the chronology of their lives, yesterday was the East Coast Earthquake.  It was 5.8 on the Richter scale and its epicenter was in Mineral, Virginia.  By the time the temblar traveled to New Jersey, it was a bit after 2:00 pm.  My office was back to work for the afternoon session, and the patient I was seeing was a new patient, the adult child and sibling two of my other patients.

I was on my feet about to do the abdominal exam portion of the check-up when a rumbling came through the floor, the walls were moving, and we were all left looking at each other with "Did that really just happen?" expressions on our faces.  Which was the same expression of the other faces I saw when I stuck my head out into the hall to see if anyone else felt anything.  Everyone went outside, I managed to grab my purse, keys and tote bag, if that building, made of spit, tissue paper and Elmer's glue, was going to come down, I was not going to be digging through the rubble before making my escape.

My biggest fear was explaining to Thea that New Jersey CAN experience earthquakes; after she saw news footage of the quakes in Japan and Haiti, she was worried that something similar would happen hear.  No, never we swore, very, very, very unlikely.   Thea said she felt it, but was not scared, and Micah probably though that he was the cause of it all.  The owners of the daycare where YingHua is holding its summer camp decided to close early (wimps) so Steve had to pick up the kids.  Meanwhile back at my office, no patients cancelled and the remainder of the afternoon session went on as if nothing happened (and compared to Haiti and Japan, nothing really did happen.)