Heavy Heart

I slept for 10 hours last night. I guess I really needed it after being up for so long the night before. Our friend called us just after 4:00 am to tell us about the tsunami warning. We live just outside of Florence and can't hear the sirens. I can't explain how surreal the whole thing was. I called and woke my mom and then, my dad, who live in Huntington Beach, CA.
Luckily,  we live high up enough that we felt we would be safe. But most of our friends live in the inundation zone and had to evacuate to the Events Center. We sat by the radio and TV to keep in tune to what was happening. Thank goodness we got lucky.
My heart is heavy as I read and watch all of the destruction and loss in Japan. I can't even imagine what they are going through. I've checked on a few of my facebook friends who live in Japan and they are safe which is relief. I just can't even find the right words to describe how sad I feel for what has happened. And how grateful I am for our coastline.