When I use my iPad, I am unable to see if is right side up and so I feel the screen border to find the Home button. As I did this very thing today, with The Weather Channel and its Irma coverage on the TV, my thoughts were of everyone’s safety and the massive evacuation going on in Florida.
Ever since elementary school and Fire Prevention Week, where we were instructed to go home and practice emergency exit routes, I would think of the items I would grab on my way to safety. And then came the day in my late 20s when my husband and I had to immediately leave our home as a result of a gas explosion on our street. I managed to throw my purse on my arm as I passed by it, carrying our cockatiel in my hands as we ran to our car in the garage. We fully expected to return to find our house leveled but after a long night and day all of us were able to come back to undamaged houses. As I type this over twenty years later, I can feel the relief and gratitude anew.
I love my house and my things and when I see homes destroyed by fire or weather, it sickens me. But in the seconds it took my husband and I to flee our house that terrifying night, we can all realize our home is the people and animals we love. Just like with me and the Home button, all you have to do is feel.
Thoughts, love and prayers to everyone affected by Harvey and Irma. Be safe and know you are not alone.
