Lessons Learned from Irma

Dear Irma,

Thanks for passing through town. We did our best to prepare for your visit here in Florida. But we have to be honest, you overstayed your welcome and we were glad to see you go.

While you wreaked havoc in many different places, you didn’t win this battle. Florida is now stronger because of you. And you’ve taught us some pretty important life lessons along the way.

#1 You can never be too prepared.

I was born and raised in West Palm Beach, Forida and returned to live here after attending the University of Florida. Needless to say, I have lived through many tropical storms and hurricanes. But, we certainly weren’t prepared for you, Irma.

As Floridians, we always knew how to prepare. And we think we still know how to prepare. After all, we go through this drill every hurricane season, during the months of June through November.

When a storm is on its way, we fill up our cars with gas. We board up our houses. We put shutters on our windows. We buy water and multiple loaves of bread and boxes of pasta.

And of course, we buy a little wine and beer to get us through those really rough moments that we know we will experience - before, during and after the storm. When we are all set and ready, the majority of us stay at home. We pray and wait, hoping that we can get through, yet, another one unscathed.

But even for Floridians, who thought they knew how to prepare, many who evacuated their homes and drove out of town were in gridlock and ran out of gas along the roadside, finding themselves in an even scarier situation.

For those of us who did not evacuate and decided to stay, we couldn’t even begin to imagine the destruction you would leave behind. There was always a hope for a shift in your destination or that your strength would weaken. But, unfortunately, our dear friends in the Florida Keys took the brunt of your anger.

And while we were not all fully prepared for the damage that you would cause, we were also not fully prepared for the days of power outages that we would experience - confirming that we truly do live in the hottest place on Earth - where the suppressing heat can become a dangerous situation, particularly for infants, the elderly and pets.

#2 Pack your patience.

We already know that getting prepared for a hurricane requires patience. We wait in hour-long Home Depot lines for gas and materials, like plywood, batteries, duct tape, and flash lights.

Riding out the storm at home also takes patience. Floridians know that. The waiting game is particulary difficult with young children, especially when one can hear the howling wind outside and see, through hurricane impact windows, what’s going on. So we try to remain calm for the kids, even when the tornado warnings continue. And we get to our safe rooms, if needed, and bring out our board games. We get creative and come up with ideas for games and other things that might create a distraction for our kids before the power goes out. But we learned from you, Irma, we can never be too prepared with games because we had to improvise when the power went out sooner than we had hoped.

Floridians who decide to evacuate know that they will also need patience. But no one was prepared for the patience that they would need this time around. Highways were bumper to bumper and travel time took double and triple the amount of time that it would normally take to get somewhere.

And what’s more? People were running out of gas.

There were other stories too, like the one about my friends who were hoping to split up their drive by getting to a place further north of where we live. But when checking into the hotel with the reservation they had previously made, they discovered that their room had been given to someone else. So they had to get back in the car at midnight to search for another place to stay.

Finally, we know that patience is a necessity after the storm. It takes a while for things to get back to normal, especially for those who live in an area heavily hit by a hurricane. The clean up is extensive and rebuilding takes time. Power outages can be a good thing for a little bit when you have three boys, like me, who love their electronics and they’re now forced to use their imaginations more than ever. But power outages are no fun when you realize, after the hurricane, just how hot it is without a working air conditioner and that there are only a few restaurants open to give you a short reprieve. Patience is most definitely a virtue during hurricane season.

#3 It’s important to be decisive.

In the past, the projected path of the hurricane was clear. Depending on where someone lived in Florida, it was easy to make a decision whether to hunker down or to evacuate.

But Irma, you threw us for a loop. You were coming for West Palm Beach, and we hoped your path would shift or weaken, as many hurricanes have done before, so my family decided to stay at home. But then, when you weren’t changing your path, it was too late to evacuate. We had options of places to stay in case the projected path remained - shelters nearby, my in-laws’ house that is built like a fortress. We also had the option of staying with my parents in a hotel nearby. But we didn’t have the option to evacuate. I had just heard a story from my friend, and the thought of trying to leave at that moment terrified me.

“I left at 4:00 in the morning and did not get to Ocala until 12:30 p.m. (a normally 3 ½ hour trip from West Palm Beach). The rest stops were totally backed up. You couldn’t even get off the exit to get into the rest stop. The way there was complete gridlock. People were pulling off on the side of the road to go to the bathroom to walk their dogs and to let their infants get out of their car seats. No one was going anywhere. It was a very stressful experience all the way around...the stress of the storm coming and wondering if you’re doing the right thing as a mother.”

After hearing my friend’s story, we decided to stay at home. But, I literally burst into tears wondering the same thing that my friend had wondered - had I made the right decision for my family? I remember praying to God, saying I don’t care what happens to our house, just please, God - keep all of us safe.

We stayed and hoped for the best. But those who had left weren’t safe from you either, Irma. Both of my brothers’ families went to North Carolina where you visited later in the week. They sat through a scary night with you while you dropped trees all around them and terrified their little ones. My friend who had evacuated to Ocala was now experiencing your eye overhead. And another friend who thought she was safe in Tampa left in the middle of the night to come to West Palm Beach with her children, not knowing if her home would still be standing when she returned.

It would have been a lot less stressful if we had just packed up our kids and headed to Ohana Fest in California to see our favorite singers - Eddie Vedder and Jack Johnson play. Lesson learned, Irma. Next time, we are out of here.

#4 Things are just things

And when we leave, we’re bringing the kids, the pets, some pictures and documents. Everything else can be replaced. As Governor Rick Scott said, “We can rebuild homes, but we cannot rebuild lives.”

I know how incredibly sad it is to lose a home. Our family lost a home to a fire caused by lightning last summer. While some very meaningful photos were recovered, it was devastating to think of all that was lost. I’m not going to lie, it has taken a lot of emotional healing, but the house is slowly being rebuilt. No one was there at the time of the fire, and we were all safe. And that was truly the only thing that mattered.

Irma, this is the mentality that so many of us had while we anticipated your landfall and the destruction that you would bring. We just wanted our families to be safe. Things are just things.

#5 There is still good in this world.

As I hear about all of the hatred and unkindness in this world and in our nation, I have been sad and disgusted that our children are growing up during this difficult time. And I’ve been working hard in my own classroom to implement the teachings of Facing History and Ourselves to help educate the next generation about what has happened in the past so that history doesn’t repeat itself. And I wonder every day, is this making a difference? Is my teaching a lost cause? Is there still good in this world when there’s so much hate?

And then, you visit, Irma, and you remind me that there is still good in this world.

You caused people to come together. First, our governor took great measures to make sure that we took the proper precautions for this hurricane so that we would remain safe. And he made sure to let us know that help would be on the way from other parts of the country immediately following the storm.

I witnessed the fulfillment of that promise over the past week, as utility trucks came from different states to help restore power to Florida as soon as possible.

You brought us closer to our neighbors, Irma. We helped each other prepare for your visit. And we helped each other after the storm as we repaired fallen fences, dragged debris to the curb for trash pick up and cooked for each other. One neighbor and friend, who miraculously never lost power, went door to door with a cooler of ice and cold drinks, offering what he could to his neighbors who remained in the heat.

Watching everyone come together to help one another over the last week or two was a blessing in disguise. It was a wonderful example to my children of what it means to be kind and caring to all - no matter the color of someone’s skin or their religious or political beliefs.

So thanks for the life lessons, Irma. You taught us a lot, and now it’s time to help our neighbors get back on their feet and to rebuild. And as Gloria Gaynor once sang - “Go on go, walk out the door, turn around now. You’re not welcome anymore.” We will survive.

Peace,

Chrissie

*Looking for ways to help our friends most affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma? Donate to “Hand in Hand,” a benefit for Hurricane Relief. Since the celebrity-run telethon aired on September 12th, the organization has raised more than 44 million dollars for those affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Donations are still being accepted. Supporters can call 1-800-258-6000 to donate by credit card, calls are toll free in the US and Canada. For more information, updates and a link to donate, please visit HandInHand2017.com.

Hand in Hand charitable partners include the Rebuild Texas Fund, Habitat for Humanity, Save the Children, Feeding Florida, Feeding Texas, Direct Relief, ASPCA, Best Friends Animal Society, United Way of Greater Houston, United Way Irma Recovery Fund and the Mayor’s Fund for Hurricane Harvey Relief (administered through the Greater Houston Community Foundation.) More charitable partners may be announced as the needs for those affected by Hurricane Irma are further evaluated. Comic Relief USA will be responsible for collecting donations in addition to managing and distributing grants through the Hand in Hand Hurricane Relief Fund.

*Or you can choose to help Food for the Poor, an organization that I stand by 100 percent. Food for the Poor is one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation and they have already begun rushing emergency relief to Barbuda, St. Maarten, the U.S. Virgin Islands and other areas in the Caribbean to meet the dire needs of those who survived Hurricane Irma, which slammed the islands as a Category 5 storm with 185 mph winds last week.

The first shipment of lifesaving aid was sent from Caritas Antilles Chancery Offices, the charity's trusted partner in St. Lucia, and arrived in the Dutch territory of St. Maarten on Monday. Two other longtime Food For the Poor partners, Matthew 25: Ministries and Feed My Starving Children, are assisting Food for the Poor in this endeavor. Critical items supplied included beans, MannaPack fortified rice meals, blankets, rubber boots, personal hygiene items and agricultural tools.

To support Hurricane Irma relief efforts, cash donations are best. Checks can be mailed to Food For The Poor at 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, FL 33073. Please make checks payable to Food For The Poor and include the source code SC#104162 to accurately route your donation to the relief effort. Or you can donate online at foodforthepoor.org.

I can personally tell you that more than 95 percent of all donations go directly to programs that help the poor. I have traveled with Food for the Poor to Haiti three times in the last three years, and I have seen with my own two eyes what this great organization does, each and every day, to help those in need.

Please consider donating to one or both of these great organizations to help our neighbors directly hit by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.