Hurricane Katrina hit during my Freshman year of college. That year, I spent spring break in New Orleans cleaning and gutting houses from the aftermath of the storm.
I never imagined that I would see that same kind of damage at home. My mom lives in Central Jersey and I'm fortunate that we only had strong winds and a little bit of rain to deal with. The biggest signs of damage here are down power lines, uprooted trees and a lot of fences taken out (ours included).
My uncle lives at the Jersey Shore. He lost his home due to severe flooding. My aunt and uncle live about 15 minutes away and had a tree come through their living room. By comparison, we're lucky. A tree came through our roof but thankfully didn't break the ceiling. We have significant roof damage and the ceiling in my mom's bedroom is damaged from water seeping through but we're so so so lucky.
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| The tree that caused the damage. |
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| The roof/side of the house |
It's 8pm right now and we regained power about an hour ago. When my mom and I pulled down our street and saw all of the lights on, we were both reduced to tears. It's easy living without TV or internet and we were able to keep our phones alive by using them minimally and plugging them in at stores once the stores opened again so we were able to stay in touch with family but living by candelight was hard. With the aftermath of the storm, we needed candles by 2 or 3pm and not having heat was absolutely terrible. It's amazing how easy it is to take advantage of something as simple as electricity but I'm so unbelievably grateful to have it back and praying hard for everyone who still doesn't have it...most of my family included.
This week has been physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting. That said, it's been really hard to think about the marathon. Yesterday I posted some of my thoughts on it and since I posted, the marathon has officially been confirmed but after getting power back and being able to watch the news and hopping on the internet and reading some of the backlash over the decision to still host the race...I'm torn over whether it was the right decision.
Someone posted a comment on NYRR's Facebook page saying that it's wrong to hand out water, food and fleece lined ponchos when there are people who have lost their homes and have no access to water, food, heat and shelter.
Ouch. It does seem wrong.
I will still be running the New York City Marathon. I've barely been through anything this week compared to most people it hasn't been easy for me by any stretch of the imagination and the opportunity to still run is giving me something to look forward to. From what I understand, Staten Island is an absolute mess. If NYRR and the Mayor's Office were to turn around tomorrow and decide against hosting the race, I would completely understand but right now, if the race is on, I'll be there. I trust that if Mayor Bloomberg made the decision to go on with the race, then I'll be there to run it.
I haven't exactly been secretive about my feelings toward New York City on this blog but I can say this - I grew up in New Jersey. I went to college on Long Island and I lived in New York City. The areas affected by Hurricane Sandy have all - at some point or another - been home to me, and I'll be pouring my heart and soul over the streets of New York this Sunday.
After all, it's the least I can do.
Christy, I am so glad you are ok, and I will say a prayer not only for your uncle and his home but for everyone else affected by this storm.
ReplyDeleteI have read so many posts/thoughts on the marathon, and I can honestly say that your words and reasons have resonated with me the most:) Best of luck on Sunday. I'll be cheering for you from Chicago!
I am SO glad you are ok!!! That is awful news about your uncle, and about the damage to your mom's house, but my goodness...it could have been so much worse. My heart aches looking at pictures and hearing stories about all of you on the east coast and I pray that things get cleaned up as quick as they can.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to the living by candlelight and not having heat since ours was out for 2 days, but when I compare my situation to yours and many others, it doesn't even come close. I feel selfish when I complain that we were without power for that long, but to be fair we did have a significant amount of damage to our city and the surrounding ones right on Lake Erie--lots of places STILL don't have power!! It's just nuts to see how much this storm hurt us and we aren't even close to the ocean.
But anyway, I will be thinking of you on Sunday and praying that you do AWESOME (because I know you will!!) GOOD LUCK!!!
You are amazing and I know that this race has been a goal for you for so long and it sucks that this damn hurricane hit NOW and did so much damage, my heart breaks for everyone. I know that you will put your heart and soul into it, just like you do everything else. I love you!!
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to hear they are still on for the marathon. I wish you all the best!
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