Part 1
Storms reveal our true identity – and I am not talking about the metaphorical ones. Literally, during the brink of many hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and my house being struck by lightning, I crystal clearly realized more about who I was. Each and every one of those tempestuous encounters were defining moments. It is something about the heightened sense of alarm and the little, if any, time one has to make decisions that more than likely impact a person’s life one way or another. In those moments, you can realize who and what is most important to you. Whether the natural disaster in your area is a snow storm, an earthquake, a volcano…even a typhoon…we know these external factors can really rain on our parades, chill us to the bone, and shake up our worlds. But there is another side…a brighter one.
Personally, like most, I don’t ever look forward to the latest storm. Even though I am not marking my calendar, I know they are ultimately inevitable occasions that occur, every season, whether I am welcoming them…or not. They challenge us mostly because many times, there are no real ways around them. So this leaves us with just the simple fact that one must go through them.
The most recent storm I encountered with many in the city and suburbs of Houston, Texas was Tropical Storm Hurricane Harvey. During the last days of August 2017, this storm was an ongoing question mark and dangerous to say the least.
My initial reaction, not my shero one, was concern from just a day or two before hearing some tidbits about the weather pattern. “Yes, I too am happy we get a day off, but I hope everything is okay and no one loses…anything in a major way…Be safe guys.” This was the only set of euphemisms that came out in front of a group of high school students for the remainder of the day, while the sinking feeling lingered inside. I knew I was not really ready to endure another storm, but I was going to have to get ready.
Don’t get me wrong; I can always use a day off. For I felt more tired than usual due to a couple of factors that come with the start of a new school year. Then you have the weird things that happen when you have less time to get them done – like car light repair. Yep, that only happens during the first few days back at work after a whole summer off. I recently officially launched my new event and print design business. And outside of work, I had managed to work through some personal storms due to loss and grief and overcoming. So yes, I was tired and I just felt like I had enough on my plate and now, this.
There was the unsettling feeling and I’m an optimist. This storm came out of nowhere and was hard to pinpoint. Normally one side of town is projected to get hit and people out of the storm’s path can be a refuge or relief of sorts, but this was going to hit ALL sides…there didn’t seem to be a good place to run to since even neighboring cities were also in this path of Harvey.
There hadn’t been a mandatory or voluntary evacuation for my area. Horrid images of a past evacuations flooded my mind – the million car-deep traffic of evacuees haunts the city to this day because unfortunately some of the people stuck on those highways lost their lives on the road, in the heat while running out of gas and lost the ability to get to a safer zone before the storm even hit…I know on the other side of the coin is doing what my family normally does – hunker down with prayer. Neither are comfortable. Neither are absolute. You just don’t know which way the wind will blow for you.
So it’s easy to say, like most Houstonians, this was not my first storm. What helped me with any storm in my life, was remembering the storms I had already survived. Sometimes you can flee in time. Sometimes leaving the scene does more damage. Sometimes you have to go through them. There may be damage, but sometimes going through them is the only way. During the course of all the ones I have been alive for, I didn’t evacuate. Past storms left an impression on me like nothing else in this world. It is where the world seems to stop, but then again, keep going regardless of how sad your story is.
1983 during Hurricane Alicia, I was a one year old baby in Houston sweating bullets and only know what my mom and grandmother shared. It was a hot night without power and this went on for days.
2005 Hurricane Rita hit Louisiana and affected us in devastating ways. Many sides of my family piled up in my parent’s then-home in Missouri City and we were without power listening to the horrible sounds that come with devastation we would soon know to be. I still remember the broken trees, fractured houses and debris the morning after and the many neighborhoods being turned upside down.
2008 Hurricane Ike had my mom, sister and my late grandmother hunkering down in the brand new home I had just bought that same summer, hoping for the best and encountering the scariest realities due to nightmarish winds. Once again the aftermath was far from pretty…
No matter what you do, let me say this – I believe that nowhere in the world is “safe.” There is no perfect route. But it is what you have peace with that allows you to prepare the best route for you to live with. Assessments and judgement calls are made. We perceive what is best at the moment. We hope for the best. We hope for the best.
And then there is something I have learned to use that is even better than hope…it is the only way I know how to survive…
In the meantime I have a couple of questions for you.
Our Defining Moments
I want your instincts to lead you.Think as quickly as water rises. Jot down your answers, on a notepad, an index card, a sticky note, a computer…whatever you can find. How do you prepare for a storm? What are the first things that come to mind? What items would you fit into your emergency GO bag if you had only moments to grab them and go? If you could not take everything, what items are you most afraid of losing? What is the condition of your current home? What order would you leave your place of residency if you had moments to get out?
Feel free to share your Eclectically You Experience in comments.
In the meantime, check out how you can
Help Us Help with Harvey Relief Efforts!
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Hurricane Harvey hit Houston and surrounding areas impacting many of us…But we are survivors! Together we weathered a storm like no other! Yes, there are plenty of days of rebuilding ahead and every little bit helps towards recovery and restoration of this great city. Eclectically You Experience wants to help. This month, help us help while making a statement of overcoming with this limited edition of “We Survived the Storm #Together” tees! The campaign ends soon. A huge thank you goes to those who wish to support by ordering a shirt that reflects the spirit of a people who rose to the occasion under dire circumstances. 100% of the proceeds will go to a worthy cause. Please tag us at #eclecticallyyouexperience. We would love to show you some social media love! (Eclectically You Experience is a Houston-based event and print design company that was formed out of a passion to celebrate the moments in life, big or small, that make us who we are.) Let’s continue to shine!
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