Ready or not? {Finding Happy ? On Bramble Hill

Here she comes.
Or at least that is the rumor. ?Is it just me or is Sandy taking her sweet sweet time actually getting out of here.
I have never watched such a sloooooowwwwwwww moving storm.
But alas?she is whacking us right now.

Since I moved here 20 some years ago I have now sat through many a hurricane or tropical storm and we ALWAYS lose power.
Normally anywhere from 2-14 days. ?So you will understand my less than enthusiastic attitude this go around.
I can?t help but remember last years hurricane and being VERY pregnant. ?No power?lots of heat..lots of contractions.
It was a nightmare.

This year I get to enjoy the peace that comes with no power.
I actually, secretly, don?t mind it sometimes.
Being without power is a forced ?time out?. ?You spend much of your day trying to figure out how to just feed the masses.
It?s a time we all slow down and talk to our neighbors?sitting in yards watching the kids all play outside.
Or neighbor helping neighbor pick up the debris and fix up siding/roofing/ cutting downed trees up.
Or endless hours of family board games.
I have already told everyone in the house that I WILL be winning all Yahtzee rounds tonight. ?For sure.

I suppose secretly ?no power? is kindof ?ok? with me?for a day or two.
That 14 days?.not so much.

That was the game changer in motherhood for me?Isabelle.
She changed things.
I was reminded of just how much she changed me this week, well before I knew there was a ?Sandy?.
I was leaving our playgroup Halloween party to take all three kids to the Pumpkin Patch. ?One of the mothers looked at me and asked ?You are taking ALL THREE by yourself!! To a pumpkin patch!??.
I answered with a ?Heck yeah!? and it didn?t really hit me until later that there was a time that I would never have thought this would be possible. ?A time before Isabelle when taking two babies by myself anywhere seemed?insane.

Isabelle made it not a choice though. ?She taught me bunches about myself.
It all started when she hit us?
We knew she was going to be a big storm but didn?t realize until a few hours before just how?big she was going to be.

At the time we lived in the ?white house? as we all call it now. ?It was smack in the middle of the woods. ?The night it hit we all curled up together in the living room.

The night was horrid. ?When storms hit in the dark it just stinks!
We could hear the trees crashing down all around us but we couldn?t see them?all we could do was huddle in the house.
I remember finally putting Haley in her crib around 4am and laying on the floor beside her because I didn?t want to leave her alone in her room in case something happened.
Adam snoozed on the couch no problem.
We all came out the next morning to find this?.

We had 9 trees down in the front and the back?all up by the root ball.
This is what ?up by the roots? looks like?

What the heck do you do with that?
The homeowners insurance does not cover tree removal unless it is on your house FYI.

One big old hot mess?.

The roads to get out of our neighborhood?ugh?nightmare.

Within two days of no power and no running water (we were on well water at the time)?.the babies and adults were done.
The kids were filthy?anyone with a toddler knows how dirty these little people can get within five seconds outside.
Going days without water was becoming a huge problem with these little people.

We made the decision that I would pack up the 3 year old and toddler up and head down to Daryl parents beach house in Kill Devil Hills N.C.
They had taken the eye of the storm but being a beach town?they were very prepared and already had power again. ?You could only get on the island if you had the resident sticker?which I had.
I was terrified. ?I had never been alone with the babes longer than a day or two.
Could I survive for an unknown amount of days?alone? ?No help or even hint of help within hours of the beach.
Our choices where so limited though?because all of Richmond was without power.
I saw a fist fight over ice?.that was the last straw.
It was time to take the babies somewhere safer. ?I packed them up and went on my way.
Leaving Daryl behind since he still had to go to work everyday. ?It was tough!

We got to the beach?not really sure what I would find there. ?They had clearly been whacked?

But they really did seem to be better off than Richmond was.
The first few days were tough. ?Trying to get them to take naps?bedtimes?three square meals?no down time for me.
By the third day though I had it figured out.
I learned to let go.
Be present.
And just enjoy this time with them.
Going out everyday and playing on the beach?

?

We discovered the best places to view sunsets together each night?

I learned that eating sand?
Rolling in sand?
Basically being covered in sand from head to toe?
Was ok. ?They would survive it and have fun and remember this time as?magical.

?

Daryl made it down towards the end of the 12 days?of just me and kids.
Poor fella had not been having fun and we were all so happy to see him and have him back with us?

We showed him our new ?secret spots? ?
Our sunsets?

In the end we finally got out power back?
We went home and back to daily life?
But I never stopped taking these kids away?all by myself. ?We go often on ?mommy adventures?.
They are magic you know.
Every mother should know the joy of just ?being? with their children.

Hopefully most mothers don?t require a huge natural disaster to teach them that they have these skills?
they may just not have used them yet.

And yes?I have the pumpkin patch pictures coming up. ?We had a fantastic adventure as always and I even ended up carrying like 9?pumpkins?at the same time. ?The kids never forget these moments you know
Now to see how long we keep power tonight.
It maybe several days without again?if it is?
I may just be packing them all up and hitting the beach again.
I am dying to see how my beloved island has managed to survive this storm

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Source: http://onbramblehill.com/archives/7646

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