After The Storm.

The other night, when we got our cable + internet back, I wrote up a post about how the hurricane affected us, but didn't finish it. Today, I had time to sit back down to it, but decided to delete it + start fresh. Our home was compromised by Sandy. There was a mandatory evacuation + our apartment flooded with over a foot of water. All of our furniture + appliances are damaged, along with many personal possessions. Hours have been spent cleaning, driving to pick up hand-me-down furniture from family [we can't afford to buy anything at the moment] + washing bags upon bags of clothes that were drenched by the Great South Bay. Last night was the first night I slept through the night. I have been stressed about completing my school work, making up a week of student teaching that I missed + finding normalcy.

Some of the damage on our end - it could have been far worse, though.

At the same time, I feel like the biggest asshole in the world for feeling like this. While I have been stressed, I am also beyond grateful. Yes, we had thousands of dollars worth of damage + Erich's dad lost his car in an attempt to save mine [I am so grateful for this, he has no idea], but some people lost everything. We have power in our home, gas in our cars + food on our plates. We are so very lucky + I cannot stress that enough. In fact, I even feel guilty for recovering as quickly as we did.

October was a rough month for me. I was student teaching, my aunt passed away + we celebrated Dominic's 15 birthday - the first one since he passed away in May. I kept telling Erich that I couldn't wait for October to be over, because it was eating me up inside. It got so bad that I even went to the doctor, because I was having daily anxiety attacks + felt like I was losing grip on everything [don't worry, no suicidal thoughts, just severe anxiety + mild depression]. Then the storm hit. 

I am glad that November has arrived, because there are many things to be thankful for + look forward to: our three year anniversary, my thirtieth birthday + Thanksgiving, to name a few. I am hoping that once we get caught up on our academic work, that we will be able to help volunteer in areas that were devastated by the storm. If we have to wait until school is over, so be it. They will still need volunteers, so we will make sure to be there.

Clockwise from top left: Penelope scared + hiding under the bed at the hotel the first night; Puar followed me around the hotel most of the time [she's a fraidy cat]; making light of the situation with the light that helped me clean out our flooded apartment in the dark; a treat from Erich's wonderful mother - one of the many things she brought to the hotel for us to make our stay that much easier.

I hope all of you are healthy + well. If any of you were affected by the storm, please email me + let me know what you need. Many of my friends want to help others in need [but don't want to go through agencies where they are unsure of how money is being allocated]. If you are in need of clothes, shoes, food, gas, whatever - please let me know. I will try my hardest to help you. Also, thank you so very much to my friends who have reached, asking how they can help us, or so make sure we were safe. That means the world to me + I hope you all know that.