It’s hard to believe that this time last year we were preparing for Superstorm Sandy’s arrival. My husband worked half a day that day, assuring me he would make it home before the storm hit. He did. We made our last preparations of the day when he came home. Then all we could do was wait.
The wind picked up early in the evening. We watched coverage on the TV of the tides coming in and flooding the shoreline, fires sparking in New York and power outages all over the east. That’s when my nerves began to get the best of me. It was then that my husband turned off the TV and we went in our bedroom to try to get some sleep. It came in spells, but it didn’t come easily. As the wind kept whipping, we heard acorns, twigs and other things being hit into the side of the house and the windows. We just bought my brand new car and I was so afraid it would be damaged with the wind (Sandy did end up leaving a ding in the hood–a war wound that constantly reminds of what a bitch she was!). My husband, my big protector, calmed my nerves with humor. He later went down to the basement to make sure the rain wasn’t flooding us out. I was once again glued to the television.
Morning came and the clean up began. We had a long week ahead of us. We lucked out and had power, but we had water/plumbing issues that left me wishing we were in the dark instead. The days after Sandy, we found ourselves taking walks around the neighborhood. It was like a tornado hit or a war had happened. Everything looked so different. Trees and powerlines were down everywhere! But after the storm, the community came together to help friends and neighbors with their clean up efforts. Teams from Canada were sent in to work on power issues. I give them a lot of credit. Those men worked so hard! It wasn’t before long that things started looking back to normal again. My husband and I really lucked out.
But one year later, there are still areas suffering from Sandy’s aftermath; constant reminders of the destruction left in the storm’s wake. The storm is over, but it’s still not really over for many.
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