I made a fast decision Friday to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Ida as soon as the meteorologists started saying, “Category 4.” Satchmo, River, and I made it safely to my mom’s with little delay.
By Saturday morning, evacuees were faced with parking lot conditions on interstate and it took 10-12 hours to drive what was usually 4-5 hours. So grateful I made the early decision.
The waiting for the storm to arrive was stressful enough but once it hit, I was still able to check my home cameras until the power went out around 6pm.
At that time, Entergy experienced a catastrophic failure with transmission lines. The SWB generates its own power but is working with diminished pressure. This all occurred right as Ida sat dumping inches of rain on our already saturated soil.
At that same time, I had an alert from my security company and can’t investigate that until I return. I have to trust in my security measures as they existed and I will be upgrading once I can.
So, here I sit on Monday, with no idea of how my home has fared. I’m grateful we are safe. I’m grateful I’m at home with my family and have the opportunity to visit with old friends. Thoughts of going to the beach are out, as it is pouring here.
I’m going to start making a big pot of gumbo, because cooking soothes me, and I’ll fit in some yoga and meditation throughout the day. All I really want to do is stay in bed and sleep and cry. My heart is heavy with the unknown.
I also now get to decide any major changes to my diet, since my fridge and deep freezer will be total losses. I’d already been making a shift towards less gluten in my diet, so that will inform some of my rebuilding efforts. I hope I can get back home before it all starts to smell too bad.
I’m going to remain grateful that we are alive and safe. Also, that I have dear friends who will no doubt band together to help each other when we can return home. Until then, I’ll try to stop imagining the worst case scenarios and just enjoy being with my momma and relaxing some.