It's been a while since I posted here, and I must tell you that knowing me -- I will revert back and forth to current events to past events --it's just the way I remember them and keep them in perspective in my head. One important note: although there are many times that I actually post the humorous thoughts after the fact, those ideas are actually going through my head at the time.
I really mean it when I say that I saw "the funny" when something happened... sometimes it may take me some time to put it in verbal perspective that someone else could handle... laughter is my out, my sanity-keeper.
Having said that -- we are fortunate that we have already received the keys to our home that arrived on 11/7/09. (shhh! you aren't supossed to receive the keys until you've closed on the loan and signed all the thousands of things you have to sign!) We've been walking through with family & friends, showing them all the neat stuff we changed and customized just for us. The two sides of the house got joined last weekend, and WOW! things seemed really BIG after that.
One thing: we had the most fun tonight --- Scotty & Willie finished connecting the sewer & water; electricity was connected by Terry over the weekend....
We are rebels, we... So we gathered up our robes, our slippers, our beverages, our soap, towels, and most importantly: a heater that Scotty plugged in about an hour ago.
I haven't had a bath in a year. Granted, we are so fortunate to have co-workers who will make sure we have a roof over our heads. I don't know what we would have done without Pat Butler...But let me tell you -- that bath was the bomb! Scotty took a shower in our shower area that we don't like -- re-bath to the rescue soon. We will have that sheetrock damaged in no time... One shower tonight, and the wall was already wet!
We actually danced a jig around the tub -- and around the shower -- we are indeed blessed. More dancing to come as we actually move in--- right now we are just so happy!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
10/24/08 Continued...
We were lucky, very lucky, in hindsight. It really didn't feel that way right off. Losing Baby was the hardest part. We learned very quickly that things are just that: things. Some of those things are irreplaceable, and some of those things have unexplainable sentimental value, and despite all the intangible thoughts and connections with tangible items, they really are just "things" in the end.
The firefighters saved some of our pictures, and my artwork from high school, some items from the office, and our fire safe. I was grateful beyond words for the pictures and the artwork. The fire safe is somewhat a different story.
I hope that the volunteer firefighters who responded to our fire never read this! After we had sat in the car for a couple of hours and finally braved our way back down the driveway to the house, it was a surreal experience indeed for a sight-impaired person looking on. The fire had almost been entirely extinguished, but there was still a halo of spark and smoke hanging above the horizon. We had draped a blanket that we found in the car around our shoulders and were stumbling a bit across the terrain.
As we stood about 15 feet from where the deck had once been, one of the firefighters came up to us carrying the fire safe that we had just gotten back from Alice, Scotty's mom, several weeks before. It had been under the master bedroom bed, and I silently wondered about Baby when the firefighter set it down beside us. He said, "Hey folks - we found your fire safe intact in the master bedroom".
Scotty & I somehow had the presence of mind to avoid looking at each other until he walked away. We restrained ourselves for about a minute, then turned our heads to look at each other and burst out laughing. Fire safes are a great thing, IF you actually store something in them! We had not even taken the time to put our important papers in the safe. Our birth certificates were in the computer room, exposed on the desk. My passport, our social security cards, and other important identification documents were either floating around somewhere in the debris of the house or were lost forever.
As we moved around the disaster zone, we left the fire safe sitting where it was. That same firefighter would pick it up and bring it where we were standing and sit it beside us, saying "Here's your fire safe". He was trying to make sure that we had something tangible to hold onto, and we couldn't have cared less about that empty safe! We didn't have the heart to tell him that it was empty. He was doing a fine thing in our minds, trying to reassure us that all was as well as it could be.
We called our friend Terry at about 5:30 am. We figured enough time had passed, and he would already be up getting ready for work. We drove to his house, showered, and settled in to wait. I needed contact lenses before we attempted anything. We called Daddy, and he met us at Terry's with money. I hated to accept it but didn't have much choice. We both needed clothes, and the dogs needed food, and so did we.
I called the eye doctor's office at 8:01 am Friday 10/24/08 to try to get contact lenses. I couldn't function until I could see. They finally called back around 11 am and were gracious enough to provide soft lenses that were as close to my prescription as they could get. I wear gas permeable lenses, but this was great! I could finally see (sort of!). They refused to charge me for the contacts and told me to come back for an exam when we were more settled. This made both of us cry right there in the doctor's office. We are blessed to have such great doctors, staff, and friends.
We headed to Wal-Mart to find clothing and now-necessities. Did you know that there are now-necessities and nearly-now necessities? Well, there are. Clothing was second on the list, after toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, contact lens solution, soap, toothbrushes, a brush, hairspray, styling goo, razors, shaving cream, dental floss, vitamins, ... well, you get the idea.
A word about those Wal-Mart people pictures circulating the internet next time...
The firefighters saved some of our pictures, and my artwork from high school, some items from the office, and our fire safe. I was grateful beyond words for the pictures and the artwork. The fire safe is somewhat a different story.
I hope that the volunteer firefighters who responded to our fire never read this! After we had sat in the car for a couple of hours and finally braved our way back down the driveway to the house, it was a surreal experience indeed for a sight-impaired person looking on. The fire had almost been entirely extinguished, but there was still a halo of spark and smoke hanging above the horizon. We had draped a blanket that we found in the car around our shoulders and were stumbling a bit across the terrain.
As we stood about 15 feet from where the deck had once been, one of the firefighters came up to us carrying the fire safe that we had just gotten back from Alice, Scotty's mom, several weeks before. It had been under the master bedroom bed, and I silently wondered about Baby when the firefighter set it down beside us. He said, "Hey folks - we found your fire safe intact in the master bedroom".
Scotty & I somehow had the presence of mind to avoid looking at each other until he walked away. We restrained ourselves for about a minute, then turned our heads to look at each other and burst out laughing. Fire safes are a great thing, IF you actually store something in them! We had not even taken the time to put our important papers in the safe. Our birth certificates were in the computer room, exposed on the desk. My passport, our social security cards, and other important identification documents were either floating around somewhere in the debris of the house or were lost forever.
As we moved around the disaster zone, we left the fire safe sitting where it was. That same firefighter would pick it up and bring it where we were standing and sit it beside us, saying "Here's your fire safe". He was trying to make sure that we had something tangible to hold onto, and we couldn't have cared less about that empty safe! We didn't have the heart to tell him that it was empty. He was doing a fine thing in our minds, trying to reassure us that all was as well as it could be.
We called our friend Terry at about 5:30 am. We figured enough time had passed, and he would already be up getting ready for work. We drove to his house, showered, and settled in to wait. I needed contact lenses before we attempted anything. We called Daddy, and he met us at Terry's with money. I hated to accept it but didn't have much choice. We both needed clothes, and the dogs needed food, and so did we.
I called the eye doctor's office at 8:01 am Friday 10/24/08 to try to get contact lenses. I couldn't function until I could see. They finally called back around 11 am and were gracious enough to provide soft lenses that were as close to my prescription as they could get. I wear gas permeable lenses, but this was great! I could finally see (sort of!). They refused to charge me for the contacts and told me to come back for an exam when we were more settled. This made both of us cry right there in the doctor's office. We are blessed to have such great doctors, staff, and friends.
We headed to Wal-Mart to find clothing and now-necessities. Did you know that there are now-necessities and nearly-now necessities? Well, there are. Clothing was second on the list, after toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, contact lens solution, soap, toothbrushes, a brush, hairspray, styling goo, razors, shaving cream, dental floss, vitamins, ... well, you get the idea.
A word about those Wal-Mart people pictures circulating the internet next time...
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