We had a fitful few hours last night.

A storm blew through Amarillo just before midnight and when it got here, the sirens went off all over the city.

The tornado sirens blasted seemingly forever. The TV weather forecasters all were on the air telling us the same thing: Get under cover; head below ground if you can; stay inside; stay away from windows.

The storm moved rapidly through the city and by a little after midnight, a tornado that reportedly touched the ground somewhere along Interstate 40 had dissipated.

I couldn’t stop thinking of our neighbors in Moore, Okla., who just now are beginning to start digging their way out of the debris left by a killer twister that ripped through their city. Twenty-four people – including several children – died as a result of that storm. Our nation’s heart breaks for the loss and our prayers keep going to those who survived and who must reassemble their community.

I heard this morning from a friend who lives in Farwell, who told me his daughter was without power for six hours last night. There certainly are other stories like that. Us? We lucked out. The lights never blinked. Not one time. We were in touch with the world during the entire event.

It’s the helplessness that gets to me. The weather guys kept telling us to take cover. Where? We don’t have a basement, let alone a storm cellar. We just sat there, listening to the warnings coming out of the TV screen – and to the sirens wailing outside.

Well, we got through that one just fine. It does give me pause to count my blessings, which I usually do on most days as it is for a number of reasons that have nothing to do with the weather.

But today, I’ll add the weather to my lengthy list of blessings and pray we can continue to stay out of Mother Nature’s path of destruction.