August 29, 2017
We have power. Electricity is on at our apartments. Some of the town is still in the dark. They still say by Saturday, 95% of the town will have power. Tina confirms that stores are getting more supplies in and that the area is safe for children.
We will be going home tomorrow.
I’m excited to get back, but I’m afraid of what we might find. What if the yoga mat that we put under the front door didn’t help? What if the water from the breezeway still got through? What if the damage from the second floor flooded our apartment? So many questions, but still not many answers. There’s been no word from the apartment complex about the status of our apartment. All we can do is hope for the best and wait.
I can’t wait much longer. I’m over the waiting..
We use our last day at the Safe Haven to go visit our families in the DFW area. Being in Waco now, they are less than 2 hours away. It’s been over a year since we’ve been up there, and frankly we need something to do to keep us from going insane… while we wait…
The visit starts off well. Kevin visits with his mom and I take the kids to surprise my mom and sister at work. It feels so good to be held in their arms. Comforting. I’m glad we came. My sister cries. I cry. We spend a couple of hours talking and the kids play with their cousins. Everything is great. We go out to dinner with my parents and sister and her kids.
Before we can leave, things take a turn for the worse and family drama makes the visit unbearable. We leave in an angry hurry. Disbelief. To be dismissed and then made to feel as though we chose this life, so there should be no sympathy is uncalled for. Unacceptable. Insulting. With validation of why we shouldn’t move back to the DFW area, we head back to Waco, to our Safe Haven.
When we first heard of a possible hurricane approaching, I knew something would bring us clarity on whether moving to Victoria was the right decision or not. Never did I think it would be something like this. Something so twisted, that we would rather deal with the consequences of weather on the coast, than deal with family drama. And yet, it is.
Emotions run high on the ride back to Waco. Kevin and I talk non-stop, going over what happened. In the thick of all the feelings of abandonment, dismissal, anger and rejection, we receive a blessing. A complete stranger online felt called to help us out financially. She sent us a hefty donation and asked for nothing in return. An unimaginable showing of love and support from an absolute stranger at just the right time.
A break. A miracle. Some hope.
Thank you, a million times over.
Shortly after we receive the donation, we see a huge convoy of boats, trucks, and military vehicles headed south. Help is on the way. People care. We’re all going to be okay.
The tide is turning.
August 30, 2017
I start this tough day with a tough conversation with my mom. A conversation that I don’t want to have, but I need to. I spill out my thoughts and feelings about what happened the night before, and what has been bothering me for a week or more. It’s not her fault. I know that. But she needs to know where I stand and how I feel. She can pass on the word if she wants. I just needed to get it off my chest and out of my mind, before I start the long trip back home.
The drive back home from Waco seems to take forever. Much longer than it took to get to Waco. My head is pounding… my thoughts are spinning…. my heart is racing… No matter what we go home to, it’s done. There’s no changing it. It is what it is. We just have to accept it and deal with whatever comes.
I’m almost numb as I drive. The kids ask questions that I don’t know how to answer. We calm them and redirect the conversation as much as we can.
201 miles later, we’re home….
The apartment complex is eerily quiet, except for the fire alarms going off in scattered apartment buildings. We make it to our front door and know immediately that ours is going off too. We open the door and stand there. The blaring sound of the alarm rings through the air. It’s a sound that haunts me to this day. The AC is turned off. It’s hot and dark inside. I don’t want to turn on any lights, until we know the extent of any possible damage or flooding. We decide not to go in. We call the apartment maintenance and they come over and turn off our fire alarms. Apparently the high amount of moisture in the air in our apartment had set off the smoke detectors. There was no fire or smoke.
We make our way into the apartment and take note of everything we see. No standing water. No soaking floors. No horrible smell. No obvious leaks or anything.
Thank goodness.
But as we gain our bearings a little bit, we notice signs of dried up water that entered from the patio door. Some by the front door too. We clean the floors. We wash the towels we had at the doors. We throw out all of the spoiled food from the fridge and freezer. We boil our water. We throw together something for the kids to eat for dinner. I continue cleaning. I realize the dryer isn’t drying our towels. Kevin moves the dryer to check on it and water pours out everywhere. Apparently rain water came in through the outside vents and flooded the entire laundry area and my desk area, while we were gone, and there was still water left in the dryer hose. I clean up the mess, as Kevin fixes the dryer.
The cleaning continues late into the night.
I’m hungry. Nauseous. Exhausted. Sweaty. Drained. Numb.
But, I’m grateful. WE ARE HOME. We have a home.
August 31, 2017
First thing this morning, I go get gas and then go to Sams, Walmart and HEB to get whatever food and supplies I can. I don’t know what to expect out in town. I’ve heard mixed information about how well the stores are stocked. Of course, there’s a line at the gas station, but not near as bad as I thought it would be. Thankfully, Sam’s and HEB are pretty well stocked for the things I need, but there are still plenty of empty shelves. Wal-Mart doesn’t have much and I’m not entirely sure that some of their food in the refrigerated section isn’t food that warmed up when the power was out. It didn’t look right.
I’ve been so strong through this whole ordeal, but today, it hits me. Right there, in the middle of the half-stocked bread aisle at Sam’s. It takes everything in me not to fall completely apart. We are okay. We ARE okay.
I see the line at the gas station on my way home. It’s long. Really long. I’m glad I went earlier.
Later, the natural disaster recovery team comes to inspect our apartment and Kevin answers the door. I walk into the living room a few seconds later and the apartment maintenance guy, who accompanied the inspector, apologizes for waking me…. (It’s in the afternoon and I have not been asleep). That speaks volumes about how I must look.
I could sleep for an entire week. That’s for sure.
A friend blesses us with a donation. I’m not good at taking or receiving, but I’m learning to accept the help when offered. I’m grateful.
I hear more updates about other units in our apartment complex. Some of them were completely flooded. My heart goes out to them. This has been a nightmare. We are very lucky that the damage isn’t worse.
We are okay. We have a home.
September 4, 2017
Both kids have been sick the past few days. With all the stuff that Harvey blew in, it’s no surprise that this would happen. That doesn’t make it any easier though.
The baseboards in our entry closet, living room, dining room, kitchen, desk area, laundry room and the kids bedroom are water-logged and ruined. We wait and wait for the recovery team to come take them out.
Until then, we try to find our new normal.
To be continued..
Part 1 – Harvey – A Storm Is Brewing
Part 2 – Harvey – In The Path
Part 4 – Harvey – Recovery
