The Big Storm

It was supposed to be a relaxing night. Max was spending the night with Mimi and Babba, Daddy was planning to give the baby a bottle, and Mommy was enjoying a rare glass of wine before a late dinner.

The first thing we noticed was how dark the sky had gotten and that the wind was really starting to blow hard. Then came the thunderous boom as part of the large oak in our front yard fell, taking out the power lines and transformer as it dropped. As we raced to the window, the utility pole attached to our house, power box, cables, and lines detached and fell between the study and sun room. We called 911 as we watched it sparking in our yard.

At this point, I decided Sarah and I were going to be leaving the house very soon. I started packing the frozen breast milk into coolers because our power was out and clearly would not be returning in the near future. However, I didn't become really worried until I went upstairs to gather some personal items and saw the two fires burning mere feet away from our house. Then I got scared.

As I was frantically tossing in diapers, the fire continued to boom and blow higher in the air. I grabbed a change of clothes for me and Sarah and my breast pump and ran down the stairs. The fire trucks had arrived (the benefit of having a station a few blocks away), but they said the could not do anything because the lines were live. They assured us they were "watching" our house closely. The power company did not feel it was an urgent priority because the fire was only threatening one house (ours) and the fire department was able to block roads to protect people from it. The power company would not arrive for another 4 hours. The newspaper felt differently and we were featured on the front page of the paper the following day.

I had planned to drive immediately to my parent's house, but when I finally got them on the phone I learned that their power was out also. So Sarah and I headed to my grandparents while Jason stayed behind to guard the house. He called me as he began to pack some important items, just in case.

People always ask what you would take with you in an emergency and this time I had to actually consider the question. My answer: Nothing. I told Jason to make sure he was safe and to locate the cats, but there was not a single thing in our house that I could not live without. Sure, I wanted our photo albums and the computer back-up drive with photos and Jason wanted to rescue some of our more expensive possessions, but ultimately they are not really important. They aren't what makes us a family. They represent the memories we have, but we would still have those with or without the pictures of the events. Don't get me wrong - I was thrilled when Jason finally called in the middle of the night to tell me that the fires were out. But I did giggle when I returned home and found the giant suitcases of stuff next to the front door...Jason is never allowed to pack in our house for good reason.

As we said prayers of thanks for the minimal damage and safety of our family and neighbors, I was also thankful to know that the only truly irreplaceable things in my life and house are the people in it.