My first earthquake

So, we had an earthquake today. I'm sure you all have seen the news: 5.4 on the scale, east of LA, no real damage but a lot of startled people etc. Lots of people posting 'I felt it in...' stories and what fell off the walls or shelves. So I thought I would share my earthquake story:

I was treating a little boy (let's call him Sam) and we were crawling along the floor in the hall when the building suddenly rattled and jolted. I just had time think "What was that? A train?" in the moment of calm before it began to really shake and rattle and I thought "No, this is an earthquake". I lunged for Sam and caught him up, shaking a little myself. Seconds later the building stopped rocking, but I had no idea what to do next, or where to go. One of the other therapists said we should get under the kitchen table. I realized my sudden lung had startled Sam, who cries rather easily, so I started singing "The ants go marching one by one, harrah, harrah" as we crawled under the table.

For the next several minutes we reassured one another and tried to entertain our kids under the table. Sam didn't understand why we were sitting there, and started fussing, so I crawled back out for a moment and grabbed him a ball. I think we had two little twinklings of aftershocks, but nor more sudden rattlings and rollings.

My next goal was to get Sam back to his mom, who was (I thought) holed up in the waiting room. But when I went there, I saw no one, and began to worry. I figured she had gone to the local grocery store, but I didn't have her cell phone number, and it was about ten minutes before I saw her rushing across the courtyard. Poor mom, she was practically crying with upset - it was her first earthquake too, and I am sure she was imagining our building in a thousand pieces, with her baby at the bottom. I really should have stopped and prayed with her, but I just returned Sam and cautioned her to drive carefully.

So that is my 'earthquake story'. Hopefully I don't have another one for a while. One of my bosses said she had been praying this morning that if there was going to be an earthquake soon, it would be before Thursday, because her mom, who is 'deathly afraid' of earthquakes, is moving out to live with her on Thursday. I guess God answers prayer!

I'm so glad no one seems to have been hurt and only a little damage was done (we just had a few books fall of shelves and a crack appeared in the paint on one wall). I'm also glad it happened around lunch, when there were only a few kids in the clinic. Ten minutes earlier and we would have had ten autistic preschoolers and their parents diving for cover. I think as a clinic we were jarred into the realization of our lack of a concrete earthquake plan. Though we all knew the policy, we all reacted differently. One of the therapists dove under the table so fast she probably got a bruise, while others of us (like me) stood looking around wildly, suddenly very aware of all the glass in our clinic. Even some of our doors are glass! If there is a next time, I am grabbing my kid and heading for the emergency exit door - it is in a windowless wall. And I pray my kid is portable!