Hurricane Ike
I had started typing an entry Sat. night before the hurricane hit but we kept losing power and getting it back so I erased that one and am starting over. Thurs. after class I packed my things and headed for H-town, stopping in Conroe on the way to fill up on gas, anticipating caos ahead of me. Surprised by a row of stuffed gorillas in front of the bathroom, I grabbed one, wrote yes on the tag, and accepted Jonathan's invitation to be his girlfriend. I dropped it off at his house, begged his dad to come stay at our house for the storm, and made my way home. The panic I expected hadn't set in yet, so it was a smooth trip and I just did hw upon reaching my house. Over the next few days the hurricane seemed like it would never arrive, but it finally hit at 2 a.m. Sat. night just as my parents woke up to catch the news with me. I slept on the couch, where the screen was ripped off the window in front of me, so it clacked loudly all through the morning while I attempted rest. It got fairly windy, but almost no rain, leaving us all a little shocked and confused. The power flickered on and off for hours and then days. Jonathan and I stayed on the phone until 4 a.m. when I passed out, and he texted me at 5 to let me know their power was gone for good, but I was too tired to text back.
The next day was pretty uneventful, we played games in the dark, I did more hw, chased Kyler around the house, until 2 a.m., again, when the rain hit. It was silent while I lie in bed when suddenly out of nowhere a gust of hard rain slammed against my window, causing me to leap up in fright. I hate rain, most people know, so I knew it would be another restless night. This rain was unrelenting; it pounded on all morning and didn't let up until about 10. I got a text from Jonathan at 6:47 a.m. telling me the inevitable: his house was flooded. He called me and we talked, but I was barely conscious and having a hard time understanding the severity of the situation. He asked me to pray for them, and I did, before falling back asleep minutes later.
The whole next day was almost unbearable. I was terrified of what ws happening to Jonathan's family and couldn't reach them because his sister dropped her phone in the water and everyone else had theirs off to conserve battery power. I couldn't call anyone and even lost my ability to text. I was able to talk to Jessie on our home phone and learn that her family was doing alright. Our worst damage was the screen but we also had a fence rip. Since we prepared wisely ahead of time by putting everything in the garage we made it out ok. I asked Jonathan's family to do the same, but they didn't, so they've never been in worse condition than they are now. With everything destroyed in their house, his mother has decided they must move out. I helped them move/throw out the furniture and rip out the horrid smelling carpet but they are still in such bad shape. We had to get rid of the couch his father sleeps on, so now he has to cram next to his mother on the couch bed that can't really hold the both of them. They still have no power so they came to my house and we gave them food and water and took them grocery shopping since nothing was open in Houston. Serena's car died instantly and Jonathan's finally gave out yesterday from the water inside so I met them at Walmart in Houston and we waited for wrecker to come get his car for 2 hours. It was ok since they had McDonald's open in that one so we didn't starve. After going back to the house and throwing out the old carpet we got new carpet from a neighbor and put it down in the living room because the glue from the floor was getting all over us and it needed to be covered instantly. Luckily nothing major broke or rotted besides the floor and chairs and couch so the rest can stay.
My grandma had been at my aunt and uncle's during the storm but got bored? and wanted to go home, and they left her, because they're not very bright, so we had to go pick her up and bring her here. She didn't understand that she had no electricity and all her food was ruined and we could not risk something happening if we left her there all alone. Even though she is mucho bored and homesick she's still safe here with us, and Kyler provides entertainment like no other. We've done a lot of coloring and even Hungry Hungry Hippos. Jonathan's next door neighbor is also a widow, like my grandma, and equally uncapable of cleaning up her yard, so we were helping her, too, and she admitted to having a crush on Jonathan. She kept saying "if I wasn't 86 years old I'd be after you, too!" We made a lot of jokes about that the whole day.
I don't think I've ever been so worried about another person as I was when their house was under water. I couldn't stop crying and praying and wishing I could just drive over there, despite the closed freeways. Sitting in their front yard eating dinner by candlelight felt like where I belonged, in a happy place, relaxed despite the trauma, and away from my nagging family. The minute Jonathan and I started to argue we stopped and hugged each other tight apologizing because we were just stressed about his car and it was before he knew he was going to get a check for the rest of the money the gov owed him. Every time we could take a break from the heavy lifting we would sit on the couch outside and cuddle in the cool breeze and it was nice. It was the first time we have ever hung out where there was no schedule: no time to leave, no homework for me to finish, no songs to practice, just us. And lying together in candlelight was highly romantic. I couldn't think of a better way to spend our first day as a couple. It was like falling in love all over again. :] Something about the way he kept lying his head on my shoulder, asking to be taken care of and protected from all the bad things that had happened, made me feel like I was in the right place and I could stay there forever. And for that my sore arms today are worth it.
The next day was pretty uneventful, we played games in the dark, I did more hw, chased Kyler around the house, until 2 a.m., again, when the rain hit. It was silent while I lie in bed when suddenly out of nowhere a gust of hard rain slammed against my window, causing me to leap up in fright. I hate rain, most people know, so I knew it would be another restless night. This rain was unrelenting; it pounded on all morning and didn't let up until about 10. I got a text from Jonathan at 6:47 a.m. telling me the inevitable: his house was flooded. He called me and we talked, but I was barely conscious and having a hard time understanding the severity of the situation. He asked me to pray for them, and I did, before falling back asleep minutes later.
The whole next day was almost unbearable. I was terrified of what ws happening to Jonathan's family and couldn't reach them because his sister dropped her phone in the water and everyone else had theirs off to conserve battery power. I couldn't call anyone and even lost my ability to text. I was able to talk to Jessie on our home phone and learn that her family was doing alright. Our worst damage was the screen but we also had a fence rip. Since we prepared wisely ahead of time by putting everything in the garage we made it out ok. I asked Jonathan's family to do the same, but they didn't, so they've never been in worse condition than they are now. With everything destroyed in their house, his mother has decided they must move out. I helped them move/throw out the furniture and rip out the horrid smelling carpet but they are still in such bad shape. We had to get rid of the couch his father sleeps on, so now he has to cram next to his mother on the couch bed that can't really hold the both of them. They still have no power so they came to my house and we gave them food and water and took them grocery shopping since nothing was open in Houston. Serena's car died instantly and Jonathan's finally gave out yesterday from the water inside so I met them at Walmart in Houston and we waited for wrecker to come get his car for 2 hours. It was ok since they had McDonald's open in that one so we didn't starve. After going back to the house and throwing out the old carpet we got new carpet from a neighbor and put it down in the living room because the glue from the floor was getting all over us and it needed to be covered instantly. Luckily nothing major broke or rotted besides the floor and chairs and couch so the rest can stay.
My grandma had been at my aunt and uncle's during the storm but got bored? and wanted to go home, and they left her, because they're not very bright, so we had to go pick her up and bring her here. She didn't understand that she had no electricity and all her food was ruined and we could not risk something happening if we left her there all alone. Even though she is mucho bored and homesick she's still safe here with us, and Kyler provides entertainment like no other. We've done a lot of coloring and even Hungry Hungry Hippos. Jonathan's next door neighbor is also a widow, like my grandma, and equally uncapable of cleaning up her yard, so we were helping her, too, and she admitted to having a crush on Jonathan. She kept saying "if I wasn't 86 years old I'd be after you, too!" We made a lot of jokes about that the whole day.
I don't think I've ever been so worried about another person as I was when their house was under water. I couldn't stop crying and praying and wishing I could just drive over there, despite the closed freeways. Sitting in their front yard eating dinner by candlelight felt like where I belonged, in a happy place, relaxed despite the trauma, and away from my nagging family. The minute Jonathan and I started to argue we stopped and hugged each other tight apologizing because we were just stressed about his car and it was before he knew he was going to get a check for the rest of the money the gov owed him. Every time we could take a break from the heavy lifting we would sit on the couch outside and cuddle in the cool breeze and it was nice. It was the first time we have ever hung out where there was no schedule: no time to leave, no homework for me to finish, no songs to practice, just us. And lying together in candlelight was highly romantic. I couldn't think of a better way to spend our first day as a couple. It was like falling in love all over again. :] Something about the way he kept lying his head on my shoulder, asking to be taken care of and protected from all the bad things that had happened, made me feel like I was in the right place and I could stay there forever. And for that my sore arms today are worth it.