Day 7: Cleanup Continues

4 May 2011

One Week Later … Cleanup continues

It was very nice sleeping in the bed, though fiberglass insulation must have gotten on the sheets as they were very itchy. The CPAP was a wonderful change from sleeping upright in the chair. The stump grinders arrived this morning before Toni and the kids left for school. They have worked for 2 hours sawing, grinding, and shoveling. They grind the root ball to dirt, not only the stump.

I have reported the outage to AT&T and they estimate a Saturday reconnection. Comcast gave me a recording that said they were working as fast as they can to restore services and claimed high call volume, inviting me to call back later.

FEMA was very nice and I got a registration number for our disaster. They are sending information for us on what services and help we can get access to.

All of the stumps in the back yard have been ground to mulch, the broken hanging limbs have been cut and the remaining tree trunk has been cut off at the property line. The back yard is looking more like a back yard and less like a stump yard.

I’m still awaiting the insurance adjuster and contractor to arrive and that process started.
I am looking forward to the meal being made for us by Norma.

The italian meal made for us was wonderful – Salad, two kinds of pastas, mini pizzas, sparkling grape juice, and even a desert of ice cream and chocolate cake. It was a glorious meal and we are all full and happy. On returning home, the kids all started their own journals of their feelings and experiences through this. Some of them didn’t want to or didn’t want to put in the detail that would help them work through the feelings. I was exhausted by week’s activities, so I went to bed and slept for 10 hours. I guess I needed it.

Day 6: Magic Lanterns

3 May 2011

Magic Lanterns begin working

I got up at 0600 and headed out to get fuel for the generator and dump the mound of recycling at the fire station. Returning, after the utility trucks, hoping to get in before the police shut the neighborhood, I refueled the generator and got it going for the day.

Deciding that she and the kids were not ready to get back into the other normal life, they stayed home and I went to work. They were very productive, cooking the roast for dinner, directing me to places for food, ice and toilet paper from relief groups and organizing a neighborhood dinner.

My work day was normal and good, but the drive home resettled me into disaster mode, humble, damaged, thankful for the help we need to get our normal life nearer to the other normal life.

As we finished the preparations and just after we refueled the generator for the night, the power came back on and we got to shut off the generator. The mood was light afterward.

We went to bed having our mailbox light on, like a bright beacon in the dark night.

Day 5: Normal is not Normal

2 May 2011

Back to Normal

Our definition of “normal” has changed from what it was before Wednesday. Our normal now includes light by flashlight and generator, MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat), relief assistance and tons of trees and stumps around our broken house and yard.

Not realizing this, we all got up and went about our old normal Monday – kids to school, us to work at universities. My day was filled with reliving the event sharing with everyone there. Toni was torn up by the sight of Alberta, ripped to shreds. I took the kids to school via 15th Street, McFarland, and River Road. They got to see another type of destruction – flat land. The kids assisted in the relief efforts during their school day.

After picking them, and navigating towards home, Toni ended up behind us as we tried to pass thru Druid Hills into Arcadia and was blocked by a cop, claiming that we could not enter because of power utility work. We went to Terri’s to have some food and visit before returning home at 8p – curfew, to our house.

Fueled up the generator and ran it all night (11 hours), but because of the running to Brookwood and back had no time for other supply gathering.
Normal is not Normal anymore.

Day 4

1 May 2011

Campus has announced that it is resuming normal operations tomorrow. We will try to get back to some facsimile of normal tomorrow. I awoke at 0800. My sunburn is getting better – still red, but doesn’t hurt… it will peel though. After the shower last night at the party and a mostly peaceful night, I am feeling pretty good.

My little brother has his birthday. the best I could do is send him a text.

Today we will use the generator some. We are all thankful. Unlike so many others, we have a house standing and a family untouched by injury and death. Silent thanks because after the storm, we made it through the sometimes hazardous cleanup suffering only scrapes and bruises, and managed to help some others along the way.