I apologize for the long silence. To put it delicately, its been a helluva year. If you don't know me in real life, here's the Cliffs Notes version- Harvey flooded the house, Facebook banned me for life and my mom has cancer. I am so glad this year is behind me. As I've told the kids, this was definitely a "character building" year. I'm sure you can understand why this blog has not stayed current. Thankfully, I finally feel like I'm starting to catch my breath and I miss my community and helping people.
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Speaking of community, I couldn't possibly articulate the love and support we received when this went down. From family, friends, neighbors and total strangers, Kingwood, TX helped us demo our house, fed us, clothed us, did our laundry, gave us a place to stay, offered showers, cared for our pets, brought ice (and BEER!), and just saved our butts in every possible way. Thankfully, my husband still has his Facebook account and he shared with me his post from this time last year. He wrote this post August 31, 2017 and I hope he doesn't mind me sharing it here.
From Trey's Facebook Page:
"I'm not even really sure how to begin this post. Most of you who know me know that I tend to react to bad things by making hysterical, yet entirely inappropriate comments. Gallows humor is my coping mechanism.
God, I am going to sound like such a goober. Trust me, this is not how I normally sound.
The community of Kingwood is just unbelievable. Immediate family, extended family, chosen family, close friends, extended friends, friends of friends, and even complete strangers have all stepped up in a way I've only seen in tv clips from other disasters. Experiencing it first hand is overwhelming.
In chronological order, as I remember them.
Russ, my brother, coming over after his apartment lost power, and spending the evening helping us prepare for what we hoped wouldn't happen, losing his car in the process.
Zachary, Greg, Jeremy, Chris and others coming over to help us move things upstairs.
Michelle and Brian Green answering texts at 2:00 in the morning on how to plug a sewage problem.
Michelle and Brian Green venturing floodwaters at 2:30 to rescue our daughters.
Jeremy answering the phone at 3:30 in the morning when I decided the adults needed to get out.
Brian Green and Jeremy braving the (deeper) floodwaters to rescue the three of us and our dogs.
(Seriously, is a sea of awesomeness, the Greens are the heroes of Kingwood. The work and effort they put into help anyone and everyone until they dropped was inspiring)
The Greens giving us a place to shower and rest before we went back out to help others.
The rescue operations in King's Forest from too many people to name (or even know) that started with an inflatable raft and a kayak rescuing a little old lady and her medicine and escalated into a small navy of legit boats getting people out of harms way. These people worked long after I dropped from exhaustion.
My wife, Melissa, volunteering at Kingwood Salon and Spa to man computers and help coordinate rescue efforts to let first responders know where to go.
The Greens putting my family up for two nights with zero complaint.
Chris and others who went and checked on things in our home while we were zonked out.
Ryan for opening his home to allow me to get a few hours of AC and Internet to begin squaring away the financial side of things.
DeeAnne for handing me dinner and hosting my family while I was Internetting.
Greg and Courtney for hosting my family that second night, and feeding me at some ungodly hour.
Jessica for keeping our dogs for who knows how long.
My 11 year old, Tori, for keeping the younger kids out of everyone's hair with a SEVEN HOUR GAME OF MONOPOLY. THAT THEY FINISHED. Once it was over, they needed more entertaining, so they started over. That kid has a legit attention span.
My 10 year old, Taryn, who hitched a ride to Kingwood Salon and Spa (we had no idea where she was) because she wanted to help when they turned it into a mass laundry facility. (The Greens, ya'll, heroes)
Ahren who showed up for anything and everything, including moving a six hundred pound, waterlogged piano all the way around my house.
All the people who showed up at my house today and just did work. Ya'll, there was a dude who beat me there this morning, and told Melissa, "I got a text from some number I don't know that this address needed help. Put me to work." and that dude busted his ass for HOURS. He wasn't the only one, either. Just the first. Throughout the day we had a steady presence of the full gamut of relationships; family, close friends, friends, families of my kids' friends, strangers, people who knew my wife through her work, and more. Those folks just killed this demo job. At one point my house had three to four guys, only some of whom I knew, who were ripping out doors, door jams, floor tacks, and baseboards while an army of 10-11 year olds who just wanted to help were filling contractor bags with debris and hauling them out. I had to take a couple of trips, and my house was on the lighter side of strange cars parked outside. Twin Grove was one lane nearly the whole way down because there were so many cars along both sides of the road.
The folks who came door to door doling out food and supplies. We had more sandwiches, water, and trash bags than I knew existed.
The Determenn again letting us use a shower to clean up after we hit a wall and couldn't go any more.
The people who just handed us the pizza I'm eating right now.
The guy who I'm told just handed us a generator, gas, and a power dryer. I have no idea who it is. I was just told he sent it to Melissa.
That doesn't include everything that's been interspersed throughout the ordeal. We have a huge list of folks offering everything from a place to stay to AC and a shower just for some downtime.
The cash I've just been handed.
The unnamed people in unnamed positions of authority who have done some things on the sly to make my life easier.
That's all I remember, but I'm sure there's more.
I didn't even cry when my grandmother died last year, and just typing this has put me on the verge of tears more than once. There is no way I could possibly say to each of you how much what you've done or offered has meant to me (Seriously, every time I try I get choked up), so just know that every time I simply say, "Thank you" I mean so much more.
The next time you get upset at the news over some Neo-Nazi or Antifa group getting rowdy, remember that those are the loud minority being shown to you by someone with something to sell you. The overwhelming majority of folks are just good people who, while they might have a few funny ideas about some things, are making their way in life just like you and me, and will drop everything to help out a fellow human in need.
Of course, if you mention this post to me I will probably call myself a pretty non-PC name and laugh."
"I'm not even really sure how to begin this post. Most of you who know me know that I tend to react to bad things by making hysterical, yet entirely inappropriate comments. Gallows humor is my coping mechanism.
God, I am going to sound like such a goober. Trust me, this is not how I normally sound.
The community of Kingwood is just unbelievable. Immediate family, extended family, chosen family, close friends, extended friends, friends of friends, and even complete strangers have all stepped up in a way I've only seen in tv clips from other disasters. Experiencing it first hand is overwhelming.
In chronological order, as I remember them.
Russ, my brother, coming over after his apartment lost power, and spending the evening helping us prepare for what we hoped wouldn't happen, losing his car in the process.
Zachary, Greg, Jeremy, Chris and others coming over to help us move things upstairs.
Michelle and Brian Green answering texts at 2:00 in the morning on how to plug a sewage problem.
Michelle and Brian Green venturing floodwaters at 2:30 to rescue our daughters.
Jeremy answering the phone at 3:30 in the morning when I decided the adults needed to get out.
Brian Green and Jeremy braving the (deeper) floodwaters to rescue the three of us and our dogs.
(Seriously, is a sea of awesomeness, the Greens are the heroes of Kingwood. The work and effort they put into help anyone and everyone until they dropped was inspiring)
The Greens giving us a place to shower and rest before we went back out to help others.
The rescue operations in King's Forest from too many people to name (or even know) that started with an inflatable raft and a kayak rescuing a little old lady and her medicine and escalated into a small navy of legit boats getting people out of harms way. These people worked long after I dropped from exhaustion.
My wife, Melissa, volunteering at Kingwood Salon and Spa to man computers and help coordinate rescue efforts to let first responders know where to go.
The Greens putting my family up for two nights with zero complaint.
Chris and others who went and checked on things in our home while we were zonked out.
Ryan for opening his home to allow me to get a few hours of AC and Internet to begin squaring away the financial side of things.
DeeAnne for handing me dinner and hosting my family while I was Internetting.
Greg and Courtney for hosting my family that second night, and feeding me at some ungodly hour.
Jessica for keeping our dogs for who knows how long.
My 11 year old, Tori, for keeping the younger kids out of everyone's hair with a SEVEN HOUR GAME OF MONOPOLY. THAT THEY FINISHED. Once it was over, they needed more entertaining, so they started over. That kid has a legit attention span.
My 10 year old, Taryn, who hitched a ride to Kingwood Salon and Spa (we had no idea where she was) because she wanted to help when they turned it into a mass laundry facility. (The Greens, ya'll, heroes)
Ahren who showed up for anything and everything, including moving a six hundred pound, waterlogged piano all the way around my house.
All the people who showed up at my house today and just did work. Ya'll, there was a dude who beat me there this morning, and told Melissa, "I got a text from some number I don't know that this address needed help. Put me to work." and that dude busted his ass for HOURS. He wasn't the only one, either. Just the first. Throughout the day we had a steady presence of the full gamut of relationships; family, close friends, friends, families of my kids' friends, strangers, people who knew my wife through her work, and more. Those folks just killed this demo job. At one point my house had three to four guys, only some of whom I knew, who were ripping out doors, door jams, floor tacks, and baseboards while an army of 10-11 year olds who just wanted to help were filling contractor bags with debris and hauling them out. I had to take a couple of trips, and my house was on the lighter side of strange cars parked outside. Twin Grove was one lane nearly the whole way down because there were so many cars along both sides of the road.
The folks who came door to door doling out food and supplies. We had more sandwiches, water, and trash bags than I knew existed.
The Determenn again letting us use a shower to clean up after we hit a wall and couldn't go any more.
The people who just handed us the pizza I'm eating right now.
The guy who I'm told just handed us a generator, gas, and a power dryer. I have no idea who it is. I was just told he sent it to Melissa.
That doesn't include everything that's been interspersed throughout the ordeal. We have a huge list of folks offering everything from a place to stay to AC and a shower just for some downtime.
The cash I've just been handed.
The unnamed people in unnamed positions of authority who have done some things on the sly to make my life easier.
That's all I remember, but I'm sure there's more.
I didn't even cry when my grandmother died last year, and just typing this has put me on the verge of tears more than once. There is no way I could possibly say to each of you how much what you've done or offered has meant to me (Seriously, every time I try I get choked up), so just know that every time I simply say, "Thank you" I mean so much more.
The next time you get upset at the news over some Neo-Nazi or Antifa group getting rowdy, remember that those are the loud minority being shown to you by someone with something to sell you. The overwhelming majority of folks are just good people who, while they might have a few funny ideas about some things, are making their way in life just like you and me, and will drop everything to help out a fellow human in need.
Of course, if you mention this post to me I will probably call myself a pretty non-PC name and laugh."
I don't quite have my hubby's eloquence, but I will tell you that last year has shown me true love and just how connected we all are to each other. It was hard to accept help. I don't know if its Southern independence or just Cajun stubbornness, but I had to learn to let people help. Not only did we desperately need it, but the people in our community deserved the chance to make a difference. I am painfully and joyfully grateful for the difference they have made to my family.
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