It rained all day Thursday. The wind was fierce on Friday. The electricity went out Friday afternoon. The house was dark and weary Friday night. Early Saturday morning someone knocked on my back door before I was ready to get up. When I opened the door, it was Barbara with a cup of coffee she had gotten from a neighbor who had a generator. We had shared the coffee and talked for a good while when she said, “I want to use your car”. That was fine with me, but she added, “I want you to get dressed and let’s go check on some people”.
We went to Shirley’s to see how she was. She was right shaken up by the storm and the reports coming in of the destruction and missing people. We invited her to go with us, but she needed to stay home and take in what was going on.
Later in the day, Barbara went to Judith’s house. She was in a mess with a hot water heater that had malfunctioned and her basement was a mess. There were trees down around her place and she could not get out. Barbara took her home to her house.
Barbara and I went by to check on several ladies we know who live alone.
For the next week, we kept tabs on Shirley, and Barbara kept Judith and her little pup, Heidi. We shared meals. We learned that many of our friends had found safety with family or neighbors. Later in the week five of us girls including Elaine went out for lunch and spent time discussing what had happened and encouraging each other. I feel blessed to have been checked on and included with such a special group of dear friends. I appreciate Barbara for pulling us all together in such a caring way.