Hurricane Ike one year ago today

So, one year ago today, we really started to fear the worst from Hurricane Ike. We hadn't received our mandatory evacuation orders, but we were moving to higher ground at this point. This is one of the days that I remember bits and pieces of. I remember that it was crazy, trying to decide what to move (do we take the couch? what about the TVs? shit, don't forget the pictures... those were the conversations we were having), and then actually moving it (or not moving it). I think we were running on pure adrenaline all day. Picture albums, the bed, stereo equipment, and "important stuff"... it all got moved to the townhouse. And now that I'm thinking about it, I have no idea where we slept the night of Sept. 10, 2008. We hadn't received mandatory evacuation orders yet, so we weren't at my parents house in The Woodlands, but I know for a fact (ok, well, maybe not for a fact, but I'm pretty sure) that we moved the bed over to the townhouse on this day one year ago. Maybe I didn't sleep that night? I really have no idea.

At any rate, I'm not ready for the next three days or the weeks that follow. I don't like anniversaries of shitty events in my life. But I know that said shitty events have helped to shape my life, me as a person, my relationships, and who I am. And I know that I grew stronger from this experience, and that my relationship with Jay has grown and definitely gotten stronger through this, but I still don't like it. It brings back very vivid memories, and then some not so vivid memories (like not remembering where the hell I slept the night before I evacuated... how can I not remember this????).

Here's a picture of what Ike looked like on Sept. 10, 2008, as it was making its way towards the Texas coast. It brings back chills just looking at it. It was so massive. Once it got into the Gulf, it basically took up the entire Gulf of Mexico. Mother Nature can be a bitch sometimes, but at the same time She has an awesome power.