Goodbye Sandy!

Sandy came by last week.  She huffed and puffed but couldn't knock down any trees, so she moved on.  Thank goodness for us.

Unfortunately, though, the farther north she went, the more aggressive she got, and finally she was able to live up to her name and bury some towns in sand and water.  New York, New Jersey, Connecticut; Sandy's visit to them has left a long lasting impression on the people who live there, and not a good one. 

We in the Washington D.C. area have had our weather problems.  We cringe whenever it rains - we wait for our basements to flood and our electricity to stop flowing, and when the weather is dry we worry about our lawns dying off and fight off the ants.  My house sits on top of clay and underground streams.  It's condition relies on the weather.  Usually when we have a lot of rain my basement floods and my windows leak.  I have to worry about mildew and mold.  This summer brought a drought and my house was suffering in a different way.  The basement floor sank a little, the walls shifted, and the doors had trouble staying closed.

Strangely enough, Sandy fixed my house.  The clay expanded with the extra moisture from all of that rain, the walls moved back, and now my doors close easily.  Even though I had sump pump trouble my basement stayed dry, and even though my neighbors prepared for evacuation the Potomac stayed put and left them alone.  We sighed with relief and surprise when Sandy moved her destructive power to other unsuspecting states.  They thought they were prepared for the worst - they were wrong.  We were prepared for the worst, and didn't need to be.  

I'm sorry for all of those people who lost their homes and lives and jobs to this hurricane.  I feel their anxiety, worry, and pain.  It could've easily happened to us, and we are aware of how lucky we are.  I am aware of how lucky I am.  My house is dry, my fridge is still working, and I have gas in my car. 

Thank you, Sandy, for leaving us unscathed.  Shame on you for what you did to everybody else.  You did what you came for; showed the Eastern Shore and New York City that Mother Nature is still in charge and created a place in history as the largest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin.  At least you weren't the deadliest.  Thank you for that, too.

There's a lot of talk about how much it's going to cost to fix everything.  It'll be interesting to compare New Jersey's healing time to New Orleans, which is still recovering from Katrina.  Our wallets were already stretched to their limits - I had to choose between trimming some tree branches away from my roof before the storm and groceries.  I chose the tree trimming and am cleaning out my freezer.  It'll be interesting to see who gets to rebuild their home, who has to move on, and who never recovers.  It'll be interesting to see what the next storm does to us. 

I used to feel alone with my water worries.  I don't anymore.  Every year someone new feels my anxiety, and even though I'm sorry for them, I'm grateful for the company. 

I guess that gives me something else to thank Sandy for. 

Goodbye, you stupid hurricane.