Update on all the things in life lately. Another Florida hurricane, should I call her by her name, Hurricane Helene, brought destruction to not only Florida but every state it went through before it fizzled out. I passed the big test at school while the hurricane was looming, lets talk about nervous, anxiety and pressure. Hurricane loss and so many managing to get through the hard times and I have new adventures waiting for me.
Hurricane Helene
Helene, or should I call her by her full name, Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic damage to the Florida coast. It took houses and businesses off of their foundations, completely gone, not to be found. Your house is not where you left it, it is not next door. No one knows where it is. The magnitude of the destruction is sickening.
I stand on the thankful side. The more thankful that you could ever imagine side. The storm went to the East of our house. That is the side you want a hurricane on. To the East or to the right side of you when you are located on the Gulf of Mexico if you are looking at a map.
Our house is a ground-level house, built in 1960 by my great-uncle. A great uncle is defined as an uncle of one’s mother or father. This one is on my father’s side. He was great to me not only by definition but by who he was. He always called me boy. I am not a boy. Some would argue that I do resemble a blonde short-haired boy, but I am not. Maybe it was an old-timer thing, to call little girls, boys but I embraced it. I liked this nickname of “boy”.
The spousal unit and I have been fortunate enough to buy the house from my cousin. My Aunt and Uncle have since passed away and the house set empty after it was ravished by Hurricane Michael in 2018. My cousin not wanting to sell what her parents built with their two hands, sweat, and love held on to the house for quite some time. Her fear was that someone would tear it down and rebuild on the lot. She wanted the house to carry the same value it held to her with to the house’s new owners.
Memories made
To own this house and the memories that not only I have made there as a kid, but so many others still hold close to their hearts, means the world to me. We are slowly making process on the rebuild. Our plan all along has been to make her where the water can run through with the most minimal destruction to the insides. Such as no wood cabinetry. We are building our kitchen cabinets out of concrete blocks. Wood sucks up the water and swells. And when this water (the ocean)comes in it brings mud, sea grass, crabs, and any other ocean critter you can imagine. It is salty, and in a few days, it stinks.
The house is concrete block, so it makes sense to just build out the inside the same. Scrub the mud off, hose it down, and keep on going. You can see in the picture above the couches floated from the living room to the kitchen. You can see the water line on the wall and the couches.
As long as the exterior walls hold, the roof stays put and the foundation remains solid. We will mop out the mud and fight the crabs off of our territory.
All I can say is we made it through this one. There were so many people who did not. Beyond thankful.
Passing Grades
I passed my big test. I passed all the other tests in this class but this was the big one. The big-big one. The whole class was making or breaking with this one final test. Yep. I did it. Ya girl passed.
I keep looking at my new license. I must say I am proud of myself. It feels rather dorky to say that. But, dang, I am proud. Now, I’m off to apply to all the jobs again. It sure feels like I just went through this process. Nonetheless, I am back at it and excited this time. Looking forward to the job possibilities, new adventures await.
Do you have any family places that hold fond memories?
Were you or any of your family affected by Hurricane Helene?
