Hurricanes

My family moved from NJ to NC in 1995. That following year, in 1996 we experienced our first hurricane. I had never heard of hurricanes and really had no idea what was happening. I just knew that we didn't have school and it was really windy. Hurricane Fran hit during the night while I was fast asleep and when I woke up, I got to experience what happens when a hurricane hits. We had no power which was very exciting since that meant we got to eat out! The mall flooded which was sad, all those clothes that no one got to wear. It was insane driving around town and seeing the damage. Trees had fallen over, power lines were on the ground, roads were flooded.

We were in the process of having our house built and we were anxious to see how it held up during this hurricane. As we drove into our new neighborhood, we saw a tree that crashed right now the middle of one house and I think all of our blood pressures spiked a bit as we pulled into our cul-de-sac. As we saw our house, the front looks fine and we were able to breath a little easier. As we walked around the property, we realized that there was no damage. The worst thing that happened was a twig like tree has fallen over and landed right next to the house. How luck were we? 

After Fran, I grew accustomed to hurricanes. There was Bonnie in 1998, Dennis and Floyd in 1999, Isabel in 2003. And who could forget Katrina in 2005. While that didn't affect NC the way it did the Gulf, it was definitely one of the worst storms I remember. Hurricane-schurricane, everyone paused but then life quickly resumed. 

I thought moving up to NJ would turn my attention from hurricanes to snowstorms. Hurricanes, I can handle; snow on the other hand, no way. It's pretty to look at but I'm definitely not a fan of having to function and keep to my daily routine amidst the snowfall. So how crazy is it that in the 2 years I've lived here, I've had two hurricanes come visit!! Um hello, I thought that was a thing of the past! Irene last year was insane. The rivers overflowed, the roads flooded, I couldn't get to work! Hearing the winds on the 18th floor was comparable to having a train right outside.

We just had Hurricane Sandy come through NJ last week. Luck for us, we didn't experience any hardship due to the storm. We never lost power, cable, or internet. The worst part had to be being stuck in the house all day. Kunal's client just got their power back today so he was in extreme stir-crazy mode since he was working from home for over a week. The panic that set in due to this storm reminded me of the panic that sets in during potential snowfall in NC. The grocery shelves were cleared, nothing was opened, and the tv channels focused on nothing but the upcoming storm. 

I know Kunal and I desperately miss NC but we rather the hurricanes stay down there than come up here.