The calm before the storm

My Indiana relatives drove all night, boarded up first Scott's mother, and then they headed to my house down the road. They arrived with cases of water, sheets of plywood, and tools galore, but I was horrified at the choice of shoe wear for construction. My father would not have approved. 

The men wasted no time and immediately got to work. Tom, Scott and Dennis boarded up the pool side of the house while Scott's friend Cindy and I sat in the air conditioned and gossiped discussed very important topics. I made sandwiches for them, made sure they ate, and then off they went back to Scott's mother's to catch a few hours of sleep before heading back to Indiana. They offered to throw me in the back of the truck, but I said I'd see them in a few weeks and off they went. God Bless them.

Tom boarded up some more until at midnight I begged him to stop so I could go to bed. He was back at it this morning. Every window, except the bathrooms and the Steelers room, is boarded. Who knows if that will help, but I feel a tad better. This morning I had a breakdown and sobbed when I saw that the storm had moved even more west in the few hours I slept. I did my ranting of all the things we should probably do, but Tom is not a person who panics and he did nothing to calm my nerves didn't appreciate my hysteria. So I wiped my tears and headed out in the hood to pass out some of the tomatoes my cousin Scott brought me from his garden.

All of my neighbors were out boarding up their homes. I passed out six tomatoes and chatted with everyone. Emotions ran from sobbing to shrugging to nonchalant. By the time I got back to my house I was drenched in sweat and had a million texts from people. My MIL called and said she decided she didn't want to be left alone and we made plans for me to pick her up later in the day. I then got to work bagging important belongings and putting them into bins. Interesting how much accumulated stuff becomes so much more important when you picture your roof blowing off and everything getting soaked and ruined.

Friend text: "Things can be replaced."

Me: "I understand the sentiment, but that isn't true. Not everything can be replaced. Should I bag Connie or not?"

Friend text: "Oh, Cara..."

Please. My mother would have appreciated that joke, and if you can't have humor...but it is true. I can't replace my children's baby items. I can't replace the signed copy of a book when the author is dead. I can't replace the pictures of my own childhood, or the papers from my schooling, or my children's special dolls/animals, or even pictures. Some things just can not be replaced, and while I know our lives are what is important, those things are a part of me and just as important to me. The rest of it I can let go. It won't be easy, but I can do that. Sigh. At least we have time to prepare.

The waiting is hard too. It was another beautiful Florida day. I drove to get my MIL and thought how it seemed so impossible that a monster was on its way to destroy our area. I've worked hard at trying to figure out where to hide during the twelve hours we've been told the storm will last. I don't turn on the news. I periodically check in online to find out the latest. Yep, waiting is a bitch. 

Darcy's college is on top of things. They have been told to take their mattresses off the beds and sleep in the hallways or the bathrooms. They've been told to ban together and stay in groups. Evacuation supplies were delivered and will be passed out at certain hours; boxes of dinner and drinks every few hours. One of the stations will be in the lobby of her building. She has plenty of her own supplies. She is a Floridian after all. Some of the kids have thanked her for staying as she has given them sage advice and made sure they were prepared. I feel confident she will be safe and the campus has everything she could need. 

We have secured everything as best as we could considering we have a one car garage and a back room that is made of aluminum or some such project. It certainly won't sustain the high winds we are told to expect, but with all the people praying and sending good vibes I'm hopeful this storm won't come through at a high category. I'm hoping we all make it through alive and our homes intact. Keep up the prayers, the well wishes, the vibes and finger crossing. We here in Florida need it desperately. Irma is not in a good mood.