27.8.12

Deja Vu

There are actually so many titles I can think of for this post . . .

The Calm Before the Storm:  Just in case you haven't heard, we're expecting a visitor within the next couple of days.  His name is Isaac.  But today was a beautiful day!  The sky was clear, and the weather really was gorgeous.  Just look at our sunset tonight!  Stunning!

This is your trampoline on Isaac:  So yesterday after church, I gently reminded my husband that we have a trampoline in the backyard and that since he was leaving this morning to go to Houston, something needed to be done with it "just in case" because that wasn't something I could deal with by myself.  I approached the subject as, "Do you have any ideas for what we can do with the trampoline?  I don't know what's going to happen, but I just don't want it to blow into one of our windows."  He talked about turning it upside down, but we have the net around it, and that wasn't the easiest thing to do.  I suggested moving it into the garage, but the garage wouldn't be big enough without moving my Tahoe out, and I didn't want to do that.  And then the conversation stalled.  Later I realized that he'd gone outside and taken the net off.  I thought he was going with plan A.  But then he ended up disassembling the entire thing.  Now it's in the garage. 

Making Preparations:  This morning I had my 6-week post-op doctor's appointment.  My plan after that was to go to the store to buy some bottled water.  That was the only thing I didn't have that we needed.  While I was at the doctor's office, my friend was already texting me the stores that no longer had bottled water.  I feared I had waited too late.  I avoided all Wal-Marts and Targets and then heard that Winn Dixie still had water.  So that's where I went.  Even though I had a loaf of bread in the pantry, I decided to buy another since we might be eating a lot of sandwiches the next few days.  Here's what I found on the bread shelves:

All that was left was maybe 20 loaves of white bread.  So I got a loaf.  I've never purchased white bread.  We always eat wheat bread.  But I have to admit that white bread makes the best grilled cheese sammies!  Store shelves aren't the only things empty.  Most of the gas stations in Baton Rouge are currently out of gas.  I didn't have to worry about that either, as Seth filled up my Tahoe this weekend.  School is canceled tomorrow and Wednesday.  We aren't sure yet about Thursday.

So why Deja Vu?  Mason was born July 13, 2005.  Katrina (we are on a first-name basis; no need for "hurricane" here) arrived August 29, 2005.  Ellie was born on July 16, 2012.  Isaac will arrive August 28 or 29, 2012.  Note to self: No more July babies!

I've thought a lot during the past couple of days about the events that occured in 2005.  Obviously, Katrina was a much bigger storm than Isaac will ever hope to be.  But Katrina caught us off guard.  My bestie and another dear friend had arrived in Louisiana to visit us and to meet Mason.  They flew in on Thursday night.  The next two days were filled with fun and laughter and just catching up.  Saturday night Seth and I wanted to take them out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants in Baton Rouge.  We noticed that traffic was pretty bad for a Saturday evening.  And then when we were in the restaurant, we began picking up on conversations going on around us.  When we got back in the car, we immediately tuned our radio to a local news station.  That's when we first heard the news about Katrina.  I'm not sure where we'd been or what we'd been doing those two days, but we had totally missed it.

By this time, the New Orleans airport was closing, and mandatory evacuations had begun.  Traffic was horrible by this time.  Once we got home, we immediately began calling the airlines and searching the internet to see if we could get the airline tickets changed.  We knew Barbara and Meriam needed to get out of here quickly, but they weren't scheduled to fly back to Georgia until Monday.  That was the day Katrina arrived.  It took a couple of hours, but we were finally able to get a ticket for Barbara to fly out Sunday afternoon.  We weren't having any luck with Meriam's ticket though.  We discussed driving to Houston so she could fly out of there.  We discussed leaving that night and driving to Georgia.  But with traffic the way it was, the nightmare was only just beginning, and we knew those options weren't realistic.  But at the same time, I knew we needed to get Meriam home.  And then we decided that she would just stay with us through the storm, and we would get her home afterwards.  Late into the night, her husband was finally able to secure her a ticket for a Sunday afternoon departure.  So we went to bed and woke up the next morning to go to church.  After church we went to the airport.  Barbara's flight was scheduled to leave first and Meriam's later.  I was going to wait with Meriam, but we finally decided I needed to go ahead and make my way to Seth's parents' house.  Barbara and Meriam both made it home that evening.

So besides the fact that Isaac may be a little friendlier to us, and my sweet friends aren't here . . . I feel like it's 2005 all over again.

We were without electricity at our house for about a week after Katrina.  But Seth's parents were farther away from the storm and didn't ever lose power for an extended period of time so we stayed with them.  Other than a few missing shingles and some water that came in under our front door, we had no damage to our house.  I need not tell you the devastation and destruction just down the road in New Orleans.  That city and her people were forever changed.  I'll never forget the images, never forget the stories of the people I met during that time.  I hope to never experience anything like that again.

Having said that, yes, to those of you who have asked, the storm is headed (right now, at least) right towards us.  But it is no Katrina.  Actually, Gustav was a much worse hurricane for our area, as the eye passed right over us.  But we were living in Mississippi at the time (2008) so we weren't here for that one.  And that was the last hurricane for Louisiana.  The last hurricane we experienced was Katrina, and that was seven years ago.  We expect winds and heavy rains, but we are absolutely safe, and we are fine!  It's inconvenient, yes.  The worst part is losing power because it's summertime in south Louisiana, and it's hot and humid, and it always seems to take F O R E V E R to have power restored.  I'll not even get into the story of the generator we don't have; I'll only say that is a priority as soon as this thing is over with!  In the meantime, I'll just be so glad when all of this is over with!

But this little one has no idea what is going on around her.  She has been giving me some of the biggest smiles lately.  It's been difficult to capture them on camera, but I managed one this morning as we were getting ready to leave.  I could just eat her up with a spoon! 

I don't remember the sermon our pastor preached the Sunday after Katrina hit, but I'll never forget the Scripture.  I have it marked in my Bible.

For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.  ~Psalm 27:5