Hurricane Irma

Today is a new day. Yesterday when we woke up I was seriously devastated. I looked at my yard and my house and was just gutted. I was also angry. I was angry that I prepared for power outages and never even lost power. (not that I was angry that I didn't lose power, but I was angry that as the storm approached it was either going on the East or West Coast...not up the middle like the scary forecasts said in the days prior...and we were supposed to just lose power and have some high winds)

As I slept in the hall next to my 5 year old that wouldn't fall asleep until midnight because of the sounds, I realized, I've never been through anything like this. We are inland, considered 'low risk' for hurricanes, and just generally not in an area that experiences something like this. Hurricanes? Yes of course. Irma was one of the strongest recorded hurricanes and the largest.

We fared 100x better than the lower lying parts of Florida and the islands of course but still had (what I thought) was a good amount of damage.

So here was my status as of yesterday morning. New homeowner. First time home buyer. No idea how insurance or FEMA works. Just was told to try to get FEMA. Tried to get FEMA and was told not only was I the first Florida call (as though it was a bad thing) but that we had not been declared a disaster area and therefore are not eligible for assistance. This doesn't mean that I think I have some immeasurable amount of damage. It means I have damage. I thought you were supposed to try to get these things taken care of asap...not sort of be laughed at for being the first florida call. I THOUGHT that is what you're supposed to do. Basically get in line! I asked her why we weren't declared a disaster area and she said 'that is something that comes directly from the White House and the President.... our hands are tied' I said 'ok...I understand...but why wouldn't we be? The eye of a category 2 hurricane came right through us? 'I don't know'. I also was operating on almost no sleep. Stressed, tired, edgy, scared, angry, hungry. Never good.


So this morning. I am trying to do better. I am trying to look at my fence and think 'it might not be so bad'...but fences cost a lot of money. I know it's material but with our high deductible coupled with the high cost of having a fence put up...it's just a little disheartening. I'm thankful we are ok. I'm thankful my house (other than shingles) is ok. I'm thankful for all the people who have checked in. I'm also thankful for the people who have taken time to explain things to me about insurance and how the rate hikes *should* work.

Today is a lot more sunny, literally and figuratively. I am who I am and we did what we needed to to keep our family safe... that's the best I can do. I'm proud of how we came together as a family yesterday and cleaned up our yard. Now we need to figure out fences....and get through to this insurance! Their numbers aren't working... maybe their power is still out? Trying to be patient but these things can take months...just trying to get on the list early.