One Week Later

They said it was going to be bad. I'm sure that they didn't imagine just how bad it was going to be.

We prepared. Before the weekend even hit we had stocked up on water, non-perishables and got the basement ready for flooding.

We did all that we could do.

Then the storm hit.

As the hours went by and the winds picked up the fear built. The "what ifs" started.

We fully expected to wake up Tuesday morning to flooding in our basement and mentally we prepared to deal with that.

When our power went out that evening we were not too surprised. Honestly we were grateful that our house was still standing and we were safe.

As soon as daylight came we ventured outside again to survey the damage. Tree limbs and tons of leaves were everywhere. Shingles from roofs were scattered and a part of our neighbor's tree lay in the street. Luckily it landed in the road and didn't hit a car or any homes.

The first thing we noticed was how cut off we felt. Although our cellphones were charged it was impossible to make a call. Without power the Internet wasn't accessible either.

I-phones are great but because of the extent of the damage, cell towers that were not destroyed were overloaded.

It was a great relief to find that we did not have any flooding and although we had no electric, we did have hot water.

Overall it could have been so much worse.

Slowly we began to get tidbits about how bad the storm was. We used the car radio to get a glimpse of the world and it sounded scary.

We managed through texting to find out that our families were safe and that was a relief.

Getting through the day without power wasn't so tough but it was frustrating to not know how long it was going to be.

We were some of the lucky ones. Wednesday night, just when I thought I couldn't take being cold anymore the power was restored.

By Thursday my parents reluctantly came to stay with us. My sister spent two nights here as well. It was just too damn cold not to.

My house is tiny, barely big enough for the 4 of us who live here. We don't have a spare room/bed so it was tough. The anxiety levels of everyone were huge. The frustration of not knowing what was next fueled the anxiety and tempers were short.

It was a challenge to feel grateful at times. For me all I needed to do was turn on the news and see how much worse others had it.

I might feel gratitude but I am still worried. I haven't worked because my job does not have power. A relative new employee I am fearful that I will not be paid for the time lost. My husband's job was flooded and he has been helping with the cleanup.

It is now a week later and my sister still does not have power. My parents power was restored last night.

It is early November and the toughest part about going without power is the cold. There are so many who are trying to cope with the freezing temps without benefit of heat. I am sure crews are working as fast as they can but the scope of this destruction is huge.

We are rationing gas here and I am careful to not waste any out of fear of not being able to get more. As of right now I have no where that I must be.

Now they are talking about a new storm threat.

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A nor'easter is expected to bring high winds and rain mid-week and snow inland. Can we catch a break?