Here's a satellite map of the eye of the hurricane going right over our town.
We went to bed on Saturday night with a category three hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. And goodness knows, you never evacuate for anything less than a category five. Well, we woke up Sunday morning with a category five headed straight for us. Derek called me early that morning to say that he and his family were leaving town and inviting us to come with them. I immediately wanted to go and so did my little sister. So my parents gave us the okay, but as we began to pack my little Nissan Sentra with as much as we possibly could, saving the most important things like pictures and keepsakes, and for me, all of my elementary education college work (I was in my senior year), I began to fall apart. I remember crying on my bedroom floor and begging my mom to go with us because if this storm left us orphans, I didn't know if I could take care of Lauren. It wasn't an easy decision for her to leave my dad, but ultimately she decided to come with us. Dad of course had to stay behind and take care of his dogs and his land. Not to mention that my grandparents' health would not allow them to leave. So somewhere around lunch time on Sunday, August 28, we said our goodbyes, hugged tighter than we ever had, and began our evacuation. It was very sombering to drive away from everything you've ever known, not knowing if it would be there when you returned.
We met up with Derek and his family and we set out for Vicksburg, Mississippi. What should've been a 3 hour drive, stretched into about an 8 hour drive with the gridlocked roads surrounding us. But we finally made it. Sadly enough, the storm was so powerful that it took out the electricity in our hotel. I learned that the only thing worse than being without power at home...is being without power away from home, unprepared. We had Derek's grandmother with us, who was suffering from a heart condition at the time and we had to get her to cooler temperatures. I remember that our hotel was attached to a casino that had back up generators, but they were not allowing a single soul into the casino for the relief of colder air or even the use of a microwave for baby bottles. Disgusting, I know.
So our evacuation route took us to Shreveport, where we stayed for only a night until we headed south again for Derek's Aunt Tanya's home in Lafayette. By the time we reached Lafayette, the storm had passed and we were able to see plenty of footage on the news. We couldn't reach any of our friends or family members by telephone simply because the storm had knocked out all of it. 99% of the footage was devoted to the flooding problems and Super Dome problems in New Orleans. It was obvious that the destruction was massive, but we had no clue what was going on with our families or how/when we would ever be able to find out. We couldn't head home because the roads were too damaged. We just had to wait and pray...and we did alot of both.
After a few days, Derek and his Dad made a quick trip home to assess any damage, and returned with great news. Our families were okay, our home was okay, and we could return home as soon as we could pack. The biggest problem at home were people running out of gas for the generators. There was plenty of gas in Lafayette, so we decided to bring some home with us, but we needed gas cans. I remember calling every hardware store in the phone book trying to locate a gas can and being so excited when Sears told us they had plenty of them. We drove there immediately, only to find that there weren't any gas cans after all. I remember crying in front of the manager because they had just sold every single gas can to one person, and now we would not be able to take even one home for our family. I think I was so emotional because my Granny was on 24 hour oxygen at the time, and I knew that without gas for the generator, her oxygen would not be able to keep her alive. I was scared. Before heading home, we took my car for an oil change. We began conversations with the guys in the shop, who then offered us all of the gas cans they had as well as money to fill them with gas. What a relief! God truly provides.
So after about a week of being away, and unable to speak with our family, we were able to go home. We stopped at our home (my parents' house) first but it was empty. Then we went down to my aunt's and found my Dad there. I don't think my Dad has ever hugged tighter or cried harder than when we ran through the door. It was so good to be home.
The rest of the story only gets happier from here. For the next two weeks, I was blessed to be able to take care of my grandmother and 3 month old baby cousin Zack while my aunt and uncle worked at the local hardware store, which had to be open, generator or no generator, to serve a community that needed them. My family and I grew closer during that time. We spent lots of time just sitting around talking about things. And I have to say, we enjoyed quite the feast of meals seeing as how everyone's freezer had to be cleaned out due to the lack of electricity. We got to know our neighbors more. We saw a broken and hurting community rise up and put themselves back together. People helped other people. People were generous. People were caring and compassionate. In the weeks following Katrina, there really wasn't any separation between family and friends. Everyone was family. Everyone was looking out for the other person. It was beautiful. It was just how God intends for us all to live everyday of our lives. That's a big lesson to learn, and I pray I never forget it.
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