100 mph storms, power outages, gas outages, and a broken deck...

The pics above are just a glimpse...

Life in the last few weeks has been pretty crazy. Not that my life is ever anything but crazy, but this went a little over the normal line. We were already dealing with a lot of random stuff, then we had a storm come through with 100mph (they may have upgraded that to a tornado) after midnight.

Our house, which is a double-wide, is not where you want to be in a storm with winds like that. There was nowhere to go in the time we had that would have been any safer, so we and our fur babies huddled in the center of the house, and it was terrifying.

The power went out so we couldn’t see anything, we could hear the howling wind and loud cracks and crashes all around us. When it finally passed, the only safe option was to go to sleep in the dark and wait for morning to see the damage.

When it was daylight, we stepped outside for the first time, and it was a sight. Our house was protected thankfully. We only ended up with a broken hollow pillar and shutter to the house itself not even a missing shingle or damaged screen or broken window, which is a miracle! But our property is wrecked. We don’t have access to most of it due to how many large trees are down. We were without power or internet for over a week, resulting in the loss of most of the groceries we had just bought the Friday before the Saturday storms. It’s going to be a process to get it all cleaned up. Our neighborhood looked more like a war zone.

We couldn’t get in or out the first day due to the driveway and the streets being blocked with trees. After two days in the heat with no ac, we got highway access, but no one had any fuel. So, my parents had to track down fuel 45 min away in a gas can so we could load the fur babies and stay where there was power, food, and ac.

Once we got power back on a week later, I came home alone (because of the extreme heat and no generator my plan was to turn the ac on so the house could cool, leave, and come back later) really wish I had gone with that plan and done nothing else.

Instead, I walked into a horrid smell of spoiled food. I realized eggs had exploded in the fridge with frozen chicken broth in the freezer (you don’t want to know what that smelled like). So, I decided to clean it all and get all the trash outside. While doing this I stepped on a bad spot on the deck and fell through messing up my right leg… Sooooo much pain! My leg immediately swelled up and had a dark bruise.

I managed to get myself into the house (thinking that if I waited, I might not be able to, or I might pass out) so I called my dad to let him know what happened, and while on the phone kept throwing up and trying to stay conscious. Ramon rushed over but he was about 45 min away. So, it’s been a not-so-fun time. I couldn’t really walk or do much the first week. I’m still using a cane to walk; I can’t drive yet; I can’t sit correctly in a chair (or sit for very long) and it’s a slow process. Still dealing with off-and-on swelling and having to alternate between heat and ice. (Pics above)

It's been a super trying time, but I am so thankful none of it was worse than it was. Because each one of those events could have ended very differently. I am for sure even less of a fan of storms now than I used to be and I’m not a fan of decks either. I have not gone near our deck since that happened. I have struggled a little more with frustration and having to watch my focus to stay on gratitude (God bless Christmas in July).

I know a ton of people are going through a ton of things right now and I know in the storm we went through a lot of people had more than property damage and one person lost their life. So, I am so very thankful nothing was worse than it was. But it has still been a struggle up against a lot of other battles being fought right now.

When things get super hard, we have to surround ourselves with as much light as possible. Learning rapidly social media is full of a lot more darkness than light and it can cloud your mind with negativity pretty quickly.

I will be posting new writing soon but as I said, moving a little slow at the moment. I hope and pray you are all doing well and that you are seeing more good moments than struggles. I know I will eventually find my way back to that place…I always do.

Be honest, Be real, Be you

Bobbie De Leon