Just a Drill!

As I was working in my office alone, I suddenly heard noise in our building and outside. I jogged to the kids' room, and I see soldiers running up the street with their guns pointed out, ducking, hiding, etc. My heart fell into my butt for half a second until it triggered the memory of the message we had gotten the day before about a drill.

Once I realized, I calmed down and went downstairs to see. I went to the head, and asked if I could join the force, even with my being in the navy - she said she is all full at the moment. I did invite her to use our apartment as part of the drill if they wanted, which they loved the idea. She just asked me first "are your parents home?" which made me smile and say they don't live there but my wife and kids aren't home either. 

As the drill continued, one of the officers came in and used the kids room to "shoot" down at the soldiers on the street. I asked if he wanted anything to drink, and gave him a can of coke. 

Then the soldiers came up the building, when he "shot" most of them coming to the door. Finally, he decided that one of them had shot him well enough, and he laid down on the floor. All in all, an entertaining few minutes. 

HOWEVER - our neighbors across the hall, who are refugees from the north, did not have any inkling of what was going on. A few minutes after this, I got a call from Shifra who after finding out that I was alive, said the neighbors are hysterical right now, with all the noise and two armed men running into our apartment. 

I walked over there and told them it was a drill. They were still half crying, and they had gotten kitchen knives out. I stayed with them for about 10 minutes calming them down, and explaining all the things the soldiers were practicing. I gave them Chizzuk, saying that now we now that Chas VeShalom in a real event, they acted in the way they should and didn't freeze up. The sheer relief all over their face said it all - we are living in truly crazy times right now, and I don't blame them for being terrified. An eventful day.