The Waiting Game

With my family and closest friends safely in their evacuation posts, the waiting begins.


















I took inventory of everyone in the early morning hours when reporters began predicting Ike's eye to directly slam my hometown. As many of them live in the pink Zone Coastal (see pic above), mandatory evacuation was already in order.

Packing for a hurricane makes you take inventory of your belongings. You have no choice but to carefully select only the treasures that will fit in your car. It's ideal (for most, necessary) to pack important papers, especially home insurance information. In the haste to leave town, boarding windows, securing all loose items outside, and placing prized belongings (that don't fit in the car) in water proof containers and locations must be done. On top of that, you can only hope that you have gas in the car because there is no guarantee that you'll be able to find any. Then, you try to outsmart the other 1 million who are leaving to find the "perfect" time to drive away to avoid the traffic. (Oh.....writing that paragraph gave me anxiety. Now I think I finally know why I live in Dallas.)

With uncertainty in the air, my family & friends who are calling San Antonio, Austin, San Marcos, Georgetown and Bastrop their home away from home for the next few days, will try to make the best of it. If they venture out in the towns where they are "vacationing", they'll have a constant yearning to get back to a newssource for the latest update. They'll have sleepless nights full of worry. "Will we have a home to return to? How much damage will we have? Will we be able to live in our home? Will my hundred year old towering trees still be standing? How long will the power be out?" The questions will be endless but there is nothing anyone can do except wait and pray.

The prayer I'm hearing from the cast of those I am close to is for the hurricane to weaken. I do not feel it is appropriate or fair to pray for the hurricane change its path because that would only inflict harm to another community. So if you are the praying type, send up a word for the Gulf Coast communities that will be impacted by Ike.

I would also encourage you to take inventory of your life and ask yourself if you could only fill a car with the most important things in your life, what would you pack?

















When my family and friends are able to return home, I'll post an update.