I almost began this post, I needn’t have worried, but that wouldn’t have been true. Rita was a big storm, and for a while, much of my family was directly in her path. Never mind that I am, when all is said and done, my mother’s daughter, and am therefore genetically prone to worrying. Katrina showed us all that there’s good reason to worry when facing a hurricane of such strength.
My mother called this morning. She and Dad are fine. She was standing in the carport in order to get enough signal on her cell phone; I imagine that some of the cell towers in the area are down. She reported that they’d had strong sustained winds, and that gusts continued, but the rainfall had been less than anticipated. While there were tree branches down on their street, there appeared to be much less damage than was inflicted by the tornado that struck their Houston neighborhood at Christmas a couple of years ago.
She and my father might have slept through the night, had it not been for a phone call at 1 a.m. from an alarm monitoring service, indicating that a motion detector alarm had gone off in my sister’s house. The alarm company would not send anyone out to check on the house; did they really think, my mother wondered, that she or my father would do so? Mom did, however, call the security patrol for my sister’s neighborhood. They were patrolling the neighborhood - to prevent possible looting? I don’t know - and reported that my sister’s house appeared secured, though the power was out in the entire area. Since my mother, once awakened (and alarmed, so to speak), does not fall asleep again easily, she was awake when their power went out at about 3 a.m. The outtage lasted for only a few hours; they had power again by the time she called.
So, thankfully, all is well for my family. I will now return to my previous worrying: for the people and animals who have suffered much from Katrina (and now Rita), for the fate of important buildings that have been damaged, and for neighborhoods that should be rebuilt with sensitivity. Thanks Roxanne, Raehan, merc and Joanna for your well wishes.
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8 responses so far ↓
Hi there!
Michelle sent me!
I live in San Antonio, TX and we didn’t get an inch of rain.
We really needed it but ah well… better “NO RAIN” than “Hurricane RAIN” right?
I’m sorry your family had to go through such an ordeal… I mean, I can only imagine what they went through….
Glad to hear that they are ok though.
Blessings…
Thank goodness they’re fine. You’re a good soul for worrying. Your parents must be proud to have a caring daughter like you.
I’m visiting from Michele’s tonight. I wanted to thank you for your much-too-kind comment on my blog. Thanks!
Oh, Kimberly,
Look at what comes from my buzzing off and being a hermit for three days. I completely missed the fact that your family was right in the path of the storm. I’m so sorry for being so clueless. But I am glad that they are fine (and I am smiling at the image of your mom standing in the carport with her phone).
I’m glad things turned out well for them. I live in a hurricane-prone area and this one had me worried for the folks in its path.
“A Great Storm arose and destroyed the House, its Architect and his Wife…”
It’ll never sell. Too deus ex isobar.
Kimberly, would that I had passed on the “Que sera, sera” genes instead of the worrier genes, but I really appreciated your concern. Having gone through all of our worst case scenario preparations, we will be better prepared next time. And to respond to one of your commenters, yes we are very proud of our caring daughter. Love you and happy birthday. Barbie
I was gone for the weekend but monitored the weather channel. The state of Texas and the local officials really impressed me with their planning. I know the people got bogged down on the expressways, but remembering my eight years in Dallas, Hwy 45 was always called the “Central Parking Lot” even on normal days. Glad to hear your parents are ok.
You are right about rebuilding. Even with Rita missing NO there was still more flooding. Rebuilding that city needs to have a lot of forethought and planning and rethinking. I hope that the city officials do not just rush headlong into this but fear they will.
I’m so glad everyone is safe and sound. Sometimes worrying from afar is as more difficult than being the one in trouble.