I had the best intentions to start blogging regularly again, then Hurricane Irma decided to make her way literally right into our backyard...so life has been a bit crazy around here to say the least!
I have been through a lot in my 43 years, but I can say without a doubt, I have never been more scared of anything in my life...going through a hurricane, and preparing for it, is extremely stressful and just plain scary.
Before I go further I need to thank every single one of you that reached out to me during the hurricane....this little community is simply amazing. I had women sending me messages, women I have never met in person, offering to open up their homes to me and my family if we needed to evacuate. Offering to send supplies if we needed them. The messages brought tears to my eyes, just seeing all the good was such a comfort during such a scary time.
We started getting worried about the hurricane on Labor Day...we were sitting here with my mom watching the news and it looked like we were in the path, so it got real pretty quick. Tuesday morning my mom and I set out to get some supplies....we were out for 6 hours, and couldn't find a bottle of water or a loaf of bread...it was insane seeing how many people were out scrambling and unable to get the basic necessities. And gas...the lines were LONG and gas stations were running out of gas quick.
My mom was leaving Wednesday morning to head back to NC and we thought about going with her, but after watching the news it appeared the hurricane was really going to hit the east coast harder so we decided to stay. Those of you who followed the storm say it changed paths many times. On Thursday we thought about packing up and heading North, however we saw how jammed the roads were, millions and millions of people trying to leave Florida. With the gas issue we were having our fear was running out of gas and being stranded on the road. So we decided to ride the storm out here.
On Wednesday night Mark and the boys put up the hurricane shutters, we cleaned up the yard and brought everything in that wasn't in the ground. I spent my days going from store to store, buying what I could.
All of our doors and windows were boarded up and it felt like we were living in a cave.
We made sure to stock up on lots of drinks!
And all the junk food!
We packed our fridges and freezers tight, knowing we would lose power and wanting to keep cold what we could for as long as possible.
The kids had been out of school since Wednesday of that week, and Mark was done working Thursday, so we were thankful to have all hands on deck prepping the house and getting ready for this major hurricane heading our way. On Friday Mark and I went out to grab whatever was left in the stores as most businesses were closing early, and we were unsure as to when things would start to reopen. We were able to find gas, so we filled up our cars, and grabbed all the snacks, cereal and gatorade we could.
We woke up Saturday, and you could tell something was going on...the wind was picking up, and there was just an eerie feeling in the air. We had been watching our local news non-stop, and we listened to all the tips, and pretty much did them all to ensure our home would be as safe as possible. We were concerned about our pool cage and heard that if you remove some screens, it will allow the wind to flow through and should save your cage, so Saturday morning the boys and Mark took out some of the screens.
We boarded up all the attic access points, and by the end of the day, we had felt like we had done all we could to keep our home safe, which would in turn keep us safe.
The storm seemed to change paths many times, and on Saturday afternoon, it seemed clear we would be in the direct path, and we were definitely scared, it was getting real now. Up until that point our are was not under a mandatory evacuation, however by mid afternoon/early evening we were...and that had us freaking out a bit. We knew our home could sustain the winds, but the storm surge...that was a whole different ball game! At this point, it was almost too late to evacuate, shelters were filling up fast, people were waiting hours in line to get in...it was a nightmare. Mark and I talked about it, and we decided to ride it out at home and pray we all stayed safe.
Needless to say we didn't sleep very well Saturday night, and when we got up Sunday morning and walked out side we could tell Irma was coming our way. It was windy and raining, and I walked down to the kids rooms and just stared at them all sleeping....praying we would be safe.
On our lanai, we have hurricane screens...they are able to withstand winds of up to 150 mph...we had lowered the screens and were able to sit outside and literally watch this hurricane come right through. Was it scary...it sure freaking was, but we think we would have been more scared inside, not being able to look outside, knowing what was going on. As the morning went on, the conditions kept getting worse. The kids were all up at this point, and though everyone was getting nervous, we kept our spirits up, and stayed positive. We spent the morning finishing up all the laundry, and cooking while we still had power.
All 7 of us headed out back, got cozy on the lanai and waited for Irma. We ate all the junk food, drank all the sodas, and played ridiculous amounts of games. Around 2:00 Sunday our power went out...and Mark and I kind of looked at each other like oh man this is getting real...quickly.
Even though it was a scary time...we truly tried to make the best of it for the kids.
One of the scariest parts was not having power and not being able to watch tv to see what was going on with the storm...thank goodness for my mom and one of Mark's childhood friends...they never stopped texting us the entire day/night to let us know where the storm was and when it was coming our way. We are so thankful to them for spending their day in front of the TV keeping us posted every step of the way.
Around 8:00 it was the worst, the wind was insane, the rain was whipping in sideways, it was unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. Like you see this on TV, but never think it can happen to you. When we went inside, it was so scary...the house was DARK, and debris was hitting the house, the wind was howling through the house, it sounded like someone was standing outside just shooting gun at our house. Being able to be outside, behind those hurricane screens was a godsend...I would have lost my mind being trapped in a dark house not being able to see what was going on.
The eye of the storm was over us about 9:30 and we decide to walk out front and see what the damage was and see how the water level was. Since our home was boarded up we had no clue at all what was going on out front. We walked out front and saw tons of limbs and branches, trees down, debris everywhere.
This big white container was in our front yard..it was heavy as heck and we have no clue what it was or where it came from.
We were surprised to see as much water as we did, but thankfully it was only halfway up our driveway and not super close to our house. We didn't stay out front long, the winds and rain started to pick back up and we decided we needed to get back to safety.
By midnight, the worst of the storm seemed to have passed...we were all mentally exhausted and just ready for bed. Unfortunately, it was HOT none of us slept well Sunday night. We woke up Monday morning GRATEFUL...we were alive, we were safe and our home was intact with minimal damage...unfortunately many were not as lucky as we were.
We spent the day Monday cleaning up the yard, praying our power would be restored. I have learned that weathering the storm is the easy part...it is the aftermath that is truly the hardest part. The devastation, the wondering when life can get back to normal.
On Monday around 5:30pm our power came back on, and what a blessing that was. Only about 8 houses in our neighborhood got it back and we happened to be one of them. I was just feeling so grateful and thankful. I immediately turned on the tv and was brought quickly to tears when I was seeing all the devastation around us, right here in our town. So many neighborhoods were under water, flooded streets, homes destroyed, no power. As I am typing this post, it is Monday afternoon, and so many here are still without power....it is over 100 here with the humidity, and I cannot imagine how these families are dealing with this extreme heat.
Our kiddos were supposed to start back to school Monday the 18th, however many schools have damage, are being used as shelters and some still don't have power, so we are told they are hoping to have the kids back to school next Monday, the 25th. That is 2 1/2 weeks out of school at that point. It is unreal to me.
Mark and I ventured out Tuesday after the storm for a bit, and seeing the devastation was heartbreaking. Nothing was open, no stores, no gas stations, no restaurants, nothing. Many people, Mark included, can't return to work because of no power, damage to structures and flooding...so no work means no paycheck. It is a truly scary time. We weathered the storm and are OK...but life is far from OK. People are waiting 3+ hours to just get gas, people are running out of food, and so many still don't have power.
Our local Target and Publix opened back up Friday, after a week of being closed and the shelves were bare....
Perishable food was not to be found. We did find a grocery store over the weekend that did have some food stocked, so we were thankful to be able to have a decent meal.
It is the little things, like a hot meal in the crock pot that mean so much these days.
We have so many friends, who still today do not have power, their roads are STILL flooded they can't get out, their homes had 4 feet of water inside and they lost so much.
One of our friends sent us this picture last week, this is a cemetery by his house....this is the reality here...the devastation is real and so many people are truly suffering right now.
As I am typing this post, it has been 8 days since Irma made her way right into our backyard, and I am so very thankful that we are safe, we have electricity and our home has MINIMAL damage. But 8 days later, life is anything but normal. My kids are not able to go to school, my husband has lost substantial time at work, it is such a scary and unsettling time.
I urge all of you that are able to donate, to find a reputable charity and donate. There are so many here that have lost everything, that need to completely rebuild their lives. And pray...please continue to pray for Florida and everyone who has been affected by this monster hurricane.
Again, thank you so much to each and everyone of you who has reached out to me over the last two weeks, I cannot put into words what it has meant to me and my family.
Going through something like this can definitely give you a whole new outlook on things...I know it probably sounds so cliche, but so many things that I thought were important, I realize now just are not.
Thanks for stopping by today and reading this extremely LONG post!
xoxo,
Kimm
