Are you kidding me?????

Yesterday started like a normal day. I didn't have a school to go to, so I took advantage of not having the kids (they went to Disney world with Grama and Pepere) and I slept in. I sat on my couch and had my coffee and watched what I wanted on the T.V. without any interruptions. I then headed out to the grocery store, alone, to pick up a few things, and then I headed home to watch my soap because I didn't have to work at my other job. Quite frankly, I was pretty excited to have a night that I could just chill all night.

As I was driving home from the grocery store, I noticed some smoke in the sky. Now I had heard the night before that there were fires in Palm Bay (my city), but it was on the other side of the city, so I was not too worried. I just figured that they were not fully out and this was just the aftermath of what had happened. In all honesty, I didn't think I had a reason to worry.

Well, when I got home and tried to turn on my soap is when I realized how serious this is. My soap was not on because they were covering the fires, and I saw an Ariel shot of a school that is about three miles from my house. There were fires breaking out all over the place, schools were being evacuated, and because of winds, the fire crews were having a hard time keeping it under control. I was getting worried at this point, but panic had not set in yet. At about 3ish, my complex manager called me (because she knew I was new here) and told me to get together an evacuation bag, "just in case". Since I had no idea what that entailed, I called my friend, who is from Melbourne, what I needed. I mean, seriously, I am from Boston and I know how to prepare for a snow storm, hell, give me 20 feet of snow and I know I need to buy milk and bread, and prepare not to leave the house. But an evacuation bag? I need to gather paperwork, pictures, a change of clothes, and make sure it all fits in one bag, because if they are busing us then you can't pack up your whole house. So, still being convinced that I was going to be o.k. I packed the bag and sat in front of the t.v.

Then at about 4:45ish my friend called me and told me to walk out my door and look to the back. I saw black smoke and the tips of flames. There was a fire right behind my complex! I ran into the house to turn on the news and I found out there was about three reported fires and still more that haven't been reported yet. Now is when the fear set in. I called my dad (not sure why) and told him what was going on. I think I just need him to tell me not to worry and just do what they tell me to do. I then proceeded to just make calls because I was alone and completely freaking out! Then at 6:00 we lost power. I made a frantic phone call to my friend, and he told me to just go to his house, that his wife was there, and to just calm down. HOW THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT!! I was not prepared for this. I was told that when the hurricanes come, things like this happen, but this is not hurricane season and this is not a HURRICANE! I passed, I asked the same questions over and over, I tried to make small talk, and mostly I tried not to feed into the urge to pack up and drive myself right back to Boston!! I just kept telling myself that I have to do what I need to do and just not panic.

Well, after all was said and done, by the time I had gotten home, around 8:30ish (I had been at another friends house who still had power), we had power back and they were reporting there were 18 fires, and there were even more this morning. More than 70 homes were either destroyed or damaged. And because of the winds that we were having, embers were starting more. Churches and schools were filled with people who have lost everything. And as I hear the news in the back ground, they are reporting that there are even more fires and even more people who will be evacuated. Schools are cancelled today, and possibly tomorrow. They are saying that it is arson, and declared it is a state of emergency.

Even though this was not something I was prepared for and I had no idea what to do, I have to say that I was grateful I am not an ultra shy person and I was able to make such good friends who talked me down off the cliff. And, even though, I never thought I would say it, I am grateful that I still have my house to go to (pretty crazy, huh Jaime!). This just made me realize that you never know what can happen so be grateful for all that you have!!

-Meg