I want to share with my readers something that has changed my life in so many ways. This will be a several part series as it takes time for me to get my thoughts out. Friday, July 1st I went out for the evening with the kids to a friend’s house, attended the local parade and then a bonfire. Then headed home about 10:30pm and went to bed. Little did I know that in the following hours my life was going to be turned upside down?
At about 1:25am I woke up (Thanks be to God…I had 3 fans running and was confused as to what was going on) to hearing people yelling outside and banging on the door. I would not have known the garage/house on fire until it was too late. Thank you God for watching out for our family! Things like this make one realize how fragile life is and how it can be gone in an instant. I got up and walked to the back door. Opened it and saw that the garage was completely engulfed in fire. I just stood there in shock and then my brain engaged. I grabbed my phone and went to open the front door; the neighbors where the ones outside making all the noise trying to wake us up. They helped me get the kids out of the house. And the neighbors’ son moved my van. (God watched over that van because it was parked right next to the garage and should have been gone).
The neighbors had already called 911; I stood in my drive way watching it burn feeling entirely helpless and in shock not knowing what to do. Just a few hours before the fire we had gotten home and everything seemed normal. I knew that things were going to be changing. As I saw the garage on fire, I knew the house was the next to go. Still the fire man had not arrived yet. I called Bryon and told him he needed to come home because the garage was on fire. Then I called various people to tell them of that early morning's events. As I saw the fireman pulling in and starting to put out the fire I remember praying to God; saying thank you for great neighbors, for watching out for us, and for sparing our lives.
The rest of the morning is a little bit of a blur: talking to the police, fire chief, starting to compile list of things in the garage (you would be amazed how much stuff one has when you have to try to remember all of it), trying to keep the kids calm, etc. This affected Joy in more ways than we realized it would. Joshua is young enough he will not remember.
As I sit here typing out the events of the evening; it still gives me chills and goose bumps. It has almost been 2 ½ months since the fire. I still struggle with trying to write out the events of that night and due to that what is going to take place over the next few months.
We all see tragedies like house fires happen to other people and think it will never be me. I will be writing more in the upcoming weeks. But just a few thoughts to leave you with: 1. Make sure whether your garage is attached or separate; make sure there is a smoke alarm hooked into the main system in the house. So if one goes off they all go off. 2. Make sure to take pictures/video of everything in your house, garage, etc. 3. When you are put in a situation like a fire people have asked what you would grab when you leave; all I grabbed was my cell phone and the kids. At the time nothing else seemed important or mattered.
