My daughters are sleeping safe and sound while I checked them again. I sat glued to my television as the hurricane hit the Gulf and began to make landfall in the early hours of the morning. I stood guard over the house as I struggled to stay awake, my eyes growing heavy, my stomach knotting. Suddenly, the wind began to beat against my windows, moaning eerily as it began to throw tiles from the roofs and causing the palm trees to bend more and more until, sadly, they could no longer fight the strong winds. I watched through my bedroom window in a daze, suddenly aware for the first time of the fury of the storm, a storm that none of us, forecasters and other experts included, expected.
Daylight came and through my window I could see the destruction for the first time. I could see an apartment across the lot that had the railing blown off along with the exterior storage door from its hinges. There were huge trees leaning against the buildings, holding the residents captive in their homes. Finally, the blows began to stop, all but the periodic gusts of wind had finally taken over. When I opened my front door, I saw many of my neighbors wandering around, assessing the damage, most with incredulous looks at how much damage the hurricane had caused. We were without power and phone service, including cell phones that had also lost service. We were alone, but we were all in this together.
Later that afternoon the sun began to shine and a cool wind began to blow. It was so surreal how suddenly we seemed to be experiencing a totally different season. How could it be so beautiful outside in the wake of the devastation and chaos that just moments ago made us fear for our lives?
We knew how lucky we were to have avoided the hassles of the usual hot and humid days, so it was much more tolerable to be without air conditioning and we received the cool breeze coming in through our open windows.
With dusk came a great feeling of helplessness. The candles flickered from window to window in each neighbor’s house. There must have been a million stars shining from above, not a cloud in the sky. Across the way, my flashlight landed on a neighbor cooking on a gas grill. He asked me if the kids and I were okay and then kindly offered us the use of his grill, which I gladly accepted. I took every piece of meat and chicken out of my thawed freezer and grilled it for over 3 hours. I gave away whole chickens to several of my neighbors whom I had greeted many times, but never knew their names before that night. This was the beginning of something very special. This was a blessing that came with the pain. He put a smile on my face and showed me a beautiful side of true nature and compassion that comes through in people in times of trouble and adversity. A rare occasion to witness the selfless and caring side of our inner being. I looked up at the sky and smiled, wondering, was someone trying to tell us something?
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