Good Monday morning!
There's a phrase you won't hear come from me very often. However, this Monday morning is a good morning, for me. Today I am praying fervently and continuously for those in the path of Hurricane Isaac. Last year, this very weekend, was the Saturday night my house was broken by Hurricane Irene. (I'm just gonna say, I hate the "I" hurricanes, 'cause back in September 2003 when Hurricane Isabel his my area it wasn't so much fun, either.)
Because this was such a huge issue for me and I blogged about my hurt, fear, anger and recovery, I feel today may be a good day to take a walk down memory lane.
I have to admit, before Irene hit I was pretty hopeful. The forecasts weren't predicting a very strong storm surge with this hurricane. Back in 2003 the storm surge from Isabel was pretty devastating and the flooding was awful. This storm wasn't going to have any of that, so I was hoping for the best and even singing songs about Irene. August 26, 2011
The night of Hurricane Irene came and went. It was a terrible night. A tree fell through our roof. There was so much rain. It just rained and rained and rained. My husband and I put three 5-gallon buckets under the largest holes and just kept dumping them into the toilet. The tree fell around 9:00 p.m. on Saturday night and stopped around 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning. It was an incredible amount of water. While my husband and I bailed, my son cleared his room, because it was the most damaged. Needless to say, we were moving fast and furiously. The next morning we went out to check out the neighborhood and it was shocking. There were, no kidding, hundreds and hundreds of trees down in the neighborhood. Dozens and dozens of homes were damaged by falling trees. I had never seen such devastation. Our neighborhood is only 126 homes. I'd guess half of them had serious damage. It was heartbreaking. August 29, 2011
I started feeling sorry for myself pretty quickly. The guys that came to take the tree off the roof of my house dropped it on my deck. More repairs would be needed. Looking at the mess in the bright morning light was overwhelming. We had a broken house and a smashed car and a broken deck. All I could see were dollar signs and WORK. Someone told me the feelings I was experiencing were similar to those of people robbed while at home. My home was invaded. The invader was a tree, but it was still an invasion. August 31, 2011
There is just something about getting to work on a problem that helps you gain perspective. Once we started having the insurance adjusters come to the house. Once we started getting estimates for the repairs. Once we started getting to WORK on the problems, things started looking up. My husband put the mother of all patches on the roof. We had planned a vacation to Reno, NV to attend the US Navy Tailhook convention. It is always held the weekend after Labor Day. We'd pre-paid and we were going. I wasn't comfortable with a blue plastic tarp on my roof and not being home. My husband made a plywood and shingle patch. It could have lasted for a year. Boy, that's love. September 2, 2011
Another aspect of my recovery from Hurricane Irene was my desire (my son would call it OBSESSION) with clearing away STUFF. To this day I am committed to clearing away anything unused or unnecessary in my home. It's an ongoing issue, but it's going my way and it feel great. September 19, 2011
A month after Hurricane Irene wrecked my house I was beginning to gain perspective and regain a sense of control over my life. (I am aware it is an illusion, but I love the illusion of control) Our family was recovering. We still had a lot of work to do, but the work was getting done. September 27, 2011
And then I had a new roof. There is comfort in the phrase "a roof over our heads." Until I had a roof that was secure and hole-free, that phrase never had as much meaning. It's amazing how one perspective can change with their circumstances. October 21, 2011
Finally the drywall, paint, and carpet cleaning was being completed and we would soon be able put our possessions back where they belonged. (I'm still trying to convince my son that his possessions do NOT belong in the guest room) Irene was becoming a distant memory. November 10, 2011
And then everything was fixed. The last piece of the puzzle came with the replacement of the window in my bedroom. I cannot tell you how much work it was and what kind of mess we had to live in to get through it. But, we did it. I learned so much about myself and my family in this time. Mostly I learned how much patience my husband has. He did all the dealings with the insurance and the mortgage company. They were a PITA. I've heard tell that normal is just a setting on your dryer. There may not be a universal normal, but there is an individual or a family normal. And when you get it back, it feels wonderful. January 18, 2012
Thanks for taking this look back on surviving Hurricane Irene with me. Please pray for all those in the path of Hurricane Isaac.
534. Learning that journaling or blogging can help me gain perspective and increase the gratitude I have for God's blessings
535. Praying for people you don't know, but are experiencing something you do know, increases my faith.
536. Lots of rain over the weekend and lots of green this morning
537. Getting news from an old friend you haven't spoken with in a long time :)
There's a phrase you won't hear come from me very often. However, this Monday morning is a good morning, for me. Today I am praying fervently and continuously for those in the path of Hurricane Isaac. Last year, this very weekend, was the Saturday night my house was broken by Hurricane Irene. (I'm just gonna say, I hate the "I" hurricanes, 'cause back in September 2003 when Hurricane Isabel his my area it wasn't so much fun, either.)
Because this was such a huge issue for me and I blogged about my hurt, fear, anger and recovery, I feel today may be a good day to take a walk down memory lane.
I have to admit, before Irene hit I was pretty hopeful. The forecasts weren't predicting a very strong storm surge with this hurricane. Back in 2003 the storm surge from Isabel was pretty devastating and the flooding was awful. This storm wasn't going to have any of that, so I was hoping for the best and even singing songs about Irene. August 26, 2011
The night of Hurricane Irene came and went. It was a terrible night. A tree fell through our roof. There was so much rain. It just rained and rained and rained. My husband and I put three 5-gallon buckets under the largest holes and just kept dumping them into the toilet. The tree fell around 9:00 p.m. on Saturday night and stopped around 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning. It was an incredible amount of water. While my husband and I bailed, my son cleared his room, because it was the most damaged. Needless to say, we were moving fast and furiously. The next morning we went out to check out the neighborhood and it was shocking. There were, no kidding, hundreds and hundreds of trees down in the neighborhood. Dozens and dozens of homes were damaged by falling trees. I had never seen such devastation. Our neighborhood is only 126 homes. I'd guess half of them had serious damage. It was heartbreaking. August 29, 2011
I started feeling sorry for myself pretty quickly. The guys that came to take the tree off the roof of my house dropped it on my deck. More repairs would be needed. Looking at the mess in the bright morning light was overwhelming. We had a broken house and a smashed car and a broken deck. All I could see were dollar signs and WORK. Someone told me the feelings I was experiencing were similar to those of people robbed while at home. My home was invaded. The invader was a tree, but it was still an invasion. August 31, 2011
There is just something about getting to work on a problem that helps you gain perspective. Once we started having the insurance adjusters come to the house. Once we started getting estimates for the repairs. Once we started getting to WORK on the problems, things started looking up. My husband put the mother of all patches on the roof. We had planned a vacation to Reno, NV to attend the US Navy Tailhook convention. It is always held the weekend after Labor Day. We'd pre-paid and we were going. I wasn't comfortable with a blue plastic tarp on my roof and not being home. My husband made a plywood and shingle patch. It could have lasted for a year. Boy, that's love. September 2, 2011
Another aspect of my recovery from Hurricane Irene was my desire (my son would call it OBSESSION) with clearing away STUFF. To this day I am committed to clearing away anything unused or unnecessary in my home. It's an ongoing issue, but it's going my way and it feel great. September 19, 2011
A month after Hurricane Irene wrecked my house I was beginning to gain perspective and regain a sense of control over my life. (I am aware it is an illusion, but I love the illusion of control) Our family was recovering. We still had a lot of work to do, but the work was getting done. September 27, 2011
And then I had a new roof. There is comfort in the phrase "a roof over our heads." Until I had a roof that was secure and hole-free, that phrase never had as much meaning. It's amazing how one perspective can change with their circumstances. October 21, 2011
Finally the drywall, paint, and carpet cleaning was being completed and we would soon be able put our possessions back where they belonged. (I'm still trying to convince my son that his possessions do NOT belong in the guest room) Irene was becoming a distant memory. November 10, 2011
And then everything was fixed. The last piece of the puzzle came with the replacement of the window in my bedroom. I cannot tell you how much work it was and what kind of mess we had to live in to get through it. But, we did it. I learned so much about myself and my family in this time. Mostly I learned how much patience my husband has. He did all the dealings with the insurance and the mortgage company. They were a PITA. I've heard tell that normal is just a setting on your dryer. There may not be a universal normal, but there is an individual or a family normal. And when you get it back, it feels wonderful. January 18, 2012
Thanks for taking this look back on surviving Hurricane Irene with me. Please pray for all those in the path of Hurricane Isaac.
534. Learning that journaling or blogging can help me gain perspective and increase the gratitude I have for God's blessings
535. Praying for people you don't know, but are experiencing something you do know, increases my faith.
536. Lots of rain over the weekend and lots of green this morning
537. Getting news from an old friend you haven't spoken with in a long time :)
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| Hurricane Isaac |
Praying and hoping for the best!
ReplyDeletewill def be praying for you...i def dont want to see you go through anything like that again....
ReplyDeleteyes..I understand! last yr 4 wks before my daughters weeding we had 2 feet of water in our basement from the hurricane..got it cleaned up and it happened AGAIN! all before the wedding, where people were supposed to stay. we learned a lot....now I too have a place in my heart for how nature affects people....
ReplyDeleteIsaac won't get me, but it is sweeping up the gulf coast and head toward NOLA and the panhandle.
ReplyDeleteI will keep you in my prayers...hoping all will go well. Keep us all posted.
ReplyDeleteahh.. Memories. Happy you are on this side of of all
ReplyDeleteI think that if we have lived in the Southeast or on the Gulf coast long enough, we have encountered a hurricane. Hugo was certainly one to remember here. I too hope that the damage from this storm is minimal. And I certainly hope that people and animals will be spared.
ReplyDeleteLuckily this hurricane's path is no where near us! :)
ReplyDelete