The week that followed

The first weeks after the tornado are mostly a blur now but here is what I remember:

The day after the tornado my mother, father, sister, brother-in-laws, sister-in-law, two close friends and one of their fathers set out to uncover the cars from the garage.  I don’t know why we decided that was what needed to be done but it was as good a place to start as any.  The cars were buried under 3 large pine trees and layers of ceiling.  The insulation was everywhere; we were breathing it, wearing it, and at one point eating it.  It took 7 men to get the cars out and one very large pick-up truck.  To our surprise they both cranked up and we were able to back them out.  To my devastation my car, my baby, the thing that I cherished the most was so badly damaged it looked like it had been in a 3 car pile-up.  Bobby’s brand new truck looked well in a word pathetic but it was drivable and fixable.

The cars were finally free and the majority of our energy was spent.  Everyone was sunburned and dehydrated but there was so much more to be done.  We didn’t know what to do about the roof the trees were still sticking out of the house and tarps would be impossible to get on until the trees were taken out however it was very obvious climbing on them or entering the house at that area was extremely unsafe.

With the help of my family and friends we began packing more necessity items like clothes and toiletries that we could find that were not covered in glass or water damaged.  We ended up filling 2 suitcases and a basket full of clothes to take with us in Bobby’s truck.  The rest was divided into what we wanted to save and what could be left behind.  Our most valuable items that survived (pictures, jewelry, electronics, and documents) were to go with my parents back to Opelika for safe keeping the rest stayed in the house. Windows were boarded up and I started to deadbolt the doors (for the life of me I am not sure why, it wasn’t going to stop someone from coming in).

The next thing was to assess the furniture and what survived the initial storm and what did not.  We are very lucky a lot of our items survived but for how long we didn’t know.  There were open holes everywhere and the good weather would not hold for too many more days.  We decided to tarp what we could and leave it.

The day had its ups and downs with happy moments and a lot of sad moments as we realized what was lost and who was lost in our neighborhood.

We spent the first 5 days after the tornado at a friend of a friend’s house with all 4 adults sharing a room and bathroom.  We took comfort that we were all together and we felt separation anxiety when we were apart.  I look back on it and think that if it had not been for Jackson and Megan I would not be able to strongly push forward as I am today.  Our friends all of them here in Tuscaloosa and far away mean so much to us and they have been nothing but wonderful.  Our family, from the countless day trips to the phone calls to the offerings they have given are what has helped Bobby and I the most and we are forever in debt to all of you!