Digging out

What a week!
Sandy has come and gone,
and much of the Northeast is now busy digging out.
Vic, the girls and I were some of the lucky ones.
We lost power for 48 hours,
but no true damage was done to our home.
Fairfield was hit pretty hard as a whole, though.

Many streets in the beach area flooded,
and a number of homes are now condemned.

33% of the town is still in the dark
as power lines and trees are spread along the roads of Greenfield Hills.

School was closed all week and may remain so until Wednesday.
And let's not even talk about the Jersey Shore -
where some towns have literally been wiped away.

We welcomed our friends Cam, Beth and Ella on Monday -
as they live in the evacuation zone.
The girls all had great fun, especially once the power went out.
They watched Cinderella by (battery-powered) candlelight,
built a great fort,
played hide-n-seek by flashlight,
and thought a big sleepover party in the basement was really quite fun.

Their moms and dads, however, needed a glass or two of wine
to try and forget about the howling wind and swaying trees outside.
As is always the case with natural disasters,
there have been stories of sheer devastation and destruction.
But there have also been stories of neighbors banding together,
warm homes with power being opened to friends,
good deeds done by those more fortunate.

And I wanted to take this opportunity to show Lexi
how even the smallest gesture can mean the most.
We picked up some warm coffee from Starbucks last night
and delivered it to our local firehouse.
It turns out that the air national guard had just returned from another
long day assisting beach residents.
Their smiles made both Lexi and I feel proud that we helped,
even in the simplest of ways.
They insisted our girl pose in front of the fire truck, with them by her side.
Moments like these make me proud to be her mom.
Sending warm thoughts to our family members still without power,
and those left wondering how their shore homes faired during Sandy.
P.S. Below is a picture and email the Squadron leader emailed me today:

Erin,

Thank you so much for thinking of us. You and your family are so nice. We
were happy to meet you all and so appreciative for the coffee. It was
perfect for the ride home. I hope you and your family are doing well and
made out ok in the storm. Attached is a Squadron picture.