Sandy

We have had some crazy winters in our last 4 years on Long Island. When Hurricane Irene hit we got all prepared and ready, and . . . nothing really happened. There was a lot of wind, but we never even lost power. Neighbors did, but we were pretty much un-phased. So when all the talk of Hurricane Sandy came, we didn't really feel too nervous. We had prepared the year before and figured we would be just fine. A day or two before the storm, I figured I would run to Walmart and grab a couple extra flashlights. Apparently, I wasn't the only one with that idea. You couldn't buy a single flashlight or lantern ANYWHERE. The stores were completely empty.

 We ended up losing power for 8 days. The island pretty much shut down completely, and we experienced some things I never thought I would. The first day or two, you really couldn't go anywhere because there were trees blocking roads, power lines down everywhere, and no traffic lights working anywhere. It was so very dangerous. I ran to the store, and stores were accepting cash only, in the dark, and you could not buy any produce or refrigerated items. Only boxed and canned food - and much of that was gone. The line at burger king was outrageous - they seemed to be the only restaurant that kept power. Walking around our neighborhood in just a quarter mile loop I counted some 8-12 trees that had fallen on houses or cars and done some sort of damage. . . and there were so many many more down in yards or roads.

 In the next few days the gas situation got pretty crazy. People were sitting in lines that were hundreds of cars long waiting to get gas. Some sat overnight or for 10+ hours, waiting at gas stations who didn't have any gas, but were rumored to be getting a shipment the next day. Some sat in lines pushing their cars, because they had completely run out of gas. We had a generator which helped a lot, but were trying not to run it too much because we were trying to ration our gas. We didn't know when we would be able to get more. There were times that you could sense, people felt frantic. It felt chaotic, like the world was ending.

 But through it all, it was amazing to see the way friends from church and neighbors all seemed to check in with each other. It was so awesome to see those who were willing to get out and help with the cleanup. For weeks, we held a short church service and then were asked to go out and help clean up. There was just so much work to do everywhere to get things back in order. There were so many who suffered so much more than we did, who are still suffering from the effects of Sandy over 6 months later. I'm grateful we were all safe, and we learned the things we did from the storm. I never could have expected it to be the experience that it was. It was SO wonderful to get power and heat back on again. Crew jumped and danced when the lights actually worked again. You never realize the things that make your life so easy until you don't have them anymore!