Driving north out of Houston Monday night I saw 20 -30 utility trucks heading south into the Houston area. I saw tanker trucks likely filled with much-needed gas and several container trucks, hopefully filled with food and other needed supplies.
My cell phone battery was nearing exhaustion. With my charger already in Dallas, and not knowing what conditions might be ahead, I exited to go buy a new one.
(The last time we evacuated to Dallas for a hurricane, the traffic literally inched by. It took some families upwards of 20 hours to make the typically 5 hour drive. This time I was solo and had packed a case of water, flashlight and toilet paper. I was concerned about my cell phone not making it and not being able to communicate with anyone. Plus, I wasn’t sure of the directions at the end of the ride. I would need to touch base at some point.)
So, as I said, I exited to go buy a charger. Good try, evacuation newbie: the stores are CLOSED. Duh.
About 100 miles later I tried again. This time I saw a Wal-Mart with lights, a Best Buy and even an AT&T store with the sign on. As I neared the parking lot, one of the lanes was almost at a standstill. And then it was. And then I realized I was mistakenly in a very long line for gas. I pulled to the next lane and cruised up to the shopping center to find that the only open store was the gas station. Wal-Mart was scheduled to open the next morning at 6. There were cars in every direction vying for gas. I was thankful to just want a mobile phone charger and not need gas.
I got back onto the interstate. About 50 miles later I came across exits with working fast-food restaurants and even gas stations without one car waiting. Woo-Hoo! I topped off my tank and grabbed a burger and caffeinated beverage to keep me going for the rest of the ride.
It wasn’t long before I pulled into my brother and sister-in-law’s home near Dallas. They had electricity! And running water! And the internet! And even a full refrigerator! And, most importantly, my family was there, too! I had certainly missed them.
My husband had been Super Dad and Super Husband, maneuvering everything with the kids throughout the storm. He was ready to go to work, though, as the home front wasn’t the only thing getting messy: He works in the financial world and all sorts of things are going crazy there. He really needed to get back to the office, except it wasn’t slated to get power for another month.
The next morning he was able to work at an office in Dallas where they would accommodate him. The morning after that he learned that his home office was back up and he decided he would head home.
So today he left quite early to drive back to his office near Houston. He’s going to stay at our house so he can commute to work and I’m staying here with the kiddos. It is expected that our home will have power after Monday. Part of me wants to go home so we can be in our own house and the kids can play with their friends in the neighborhood. But the other part of me knows that we have many amenities I would have to go without at home.
So here we sit. And wait.
And know that we are faring much better than many: We have a safe, comfortable place to go. And our house sustained minimal damage (that we know of now).
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