Please accept my apologies, for it has been a long time since I posted to my blog. My life has been turned upside down by the Northern California wildfires.
On October 9th, in the wee hours of the morning, we got a phone call. If you are like me, you believe that no phone call at 1:30 am is likely to be good news. My gut reaction was completely accurate. A mechanical voice stated that a devastating wildfire was reaching our neighborhood. I woke my husband up – he was skeptical, so we decided to check things out.
We opened the back door and were surprised to see that the sky was an intense orange color on the hilltop. We didn’t see any flames, but the noise we heard will never be forgotten. The roar of an angry lion, mixed with the mechanical noise of a freight train at full speed. We slammed the door shut and commenced to evacuate. We dressed in street clothes, saved our photo albums and some important documents, and left our beautiful home of 24 years, unbeknownst to us, for the last time.
The first few weeks were very difficult. Due to the fire and smoke danger, stores were closed. We had nothing, and couldn’t replace anything. We were fortunate to have a room at a relative’s house, where we stayed for 4 weeks. Caring people donated clothing and shoes, as well as toiletries. During this time, I looked for rental property, but could not find any that allowed for large dogs. In desperation, I posted on Facebook, asking friends to let me know if they knew of a property we could rent. Miraculously, a friend saw my post and messaged me that she would move out of her home and rent it to us. This kindness will never be forgotten.
For the past two months, I have been completing insurance and disaster paperwork, shopping for the things we needed to have a comfortable place to live, and re-establishing the organization needed to continue both my husband’s and my business. I have only begun focusing on my business for the last week or so.
In conclusion, 2017 ended with much difficulty. But, as Scarlett O’Hara so famously said, tomorrow is another day! I am ready to face 2018 with my heart open, and my hope in God, trusting that I will be led on the path I am supposed to go.
