Ain't It Amazing?

This may be scattershot and a bit rambling, but here are some ruminations from our return from exodus and exile:

The boy, the dog, and I returned home yesterday evening to a house with no power and houses all around us running noisy generators. After we brought everything back inside, our next task was opening windows to get as much of a cross-breeze as was available. Fortunately, Ike left cool weather in his wake, not like Rita, who left us to swelter.

Damage to the house appears to be minimal, but I'll be a lot happier after the first rain. That way I can find any mysterious leaks that might still exist. Today as I went through the garage, I found all sorts of dead worms. I'm not sure if they were blown into the garage by the storm or water brought them into the garage or they just tried to get away from the rain and crawled into the first dry spot they found. Some of them made it pretty far into the garage before dying, so I'm a bit skeptical about that last option.

We had to put the dog in a kennel while we were in Duncanville because my sister-in-law is quite allergic to dog dander. On the trip back home, she kept sneezing and is having a truly snorky time of it even now. She's still eating and acting mostly ok, but I'm a bit worried about her. We may be making a visit to the vet's tomorrow, if he's up and running.

Last night, I ended up sleeping on the couch, because the Penster wouldn't sleep in the coolest part of the house by herself. She wanted to sleep near me, but managed to ensconce herself in the most inextricable places and then honk and snork. She sounded so pitiful. At least when we got someplace cooler, she rested a little better, even though she still honks and snorks.

We had worship this morning, all 9 of us. That wasn't quite everyone who was in town, but it was a fair representation of us. Mostly it was a time of sharing "storm stories" and talking about how Rita and Ike were similar, but different. Several of us are having a difficult time with the experiences related to the noise of generators and, especially, chain saws, and seeing blue tarps once again decorating so many roofs.

Yet in the midst of all that has come up again because of Ike, we've once again found the presence of God. "This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Be glad that the vast majority of us came through the storm in much better shape than after Rita. Be glad that here it is only a week since the storm came through and power is returning so quickly this time. It was 3 weeks after Rita before the power crews were even close to my house. Be glad that there is a cool breeze to help us survive the time without the electrical power we've gotten so used to having.

It was an odd feeling when the electricity came back on today. I was truly enjoying the open windows and the gentle breeze and the lack of constant news streams about this, that and the other about the aftermath of Ike. There was a sense of peace that I can't quite put my finger on, even though there was the sound of generators in the background. It was pleasant to lie on the couch and read a book, just relaxing. Of course, no one said we had to close the windows and doors once the power came back on. However, it seemed to be a good idea, since the dog was having such a difficult time honking and snorking.

I've also been blessed with a wonderful son! When we got home yesterday, after taking pictures with his phone camera because mine had died, he started removing downed limbs from the yard. This morning, he got up and went to the store and bought the last axe they had. He spent the rest of the morning and first part of the afternoon hacing away at the limbs too big to move and the limb that straddled the powerline into the house. It's not all out at the curb yet, but he managed to accomplish most of the task.

Right now, I'm looking out the sliding glass door and noticing the "thinness" of the trees. Rita thinned them out a good bit. But Ike has taken even more out. It's strange to see the sky through what's left. Thinking back on today, the sun has seemed, well, more present. It is an odd feeling.

Hurricanes and natural disasters seem to do that - leave you with an odd feeling. In time it will go away. It did after Rita. In the meantime, I guess we'll just have to live with the odd.