Just a quick post to let you know that Nathan and Meagan and the family weathered the hurricane in Bartow with just a few challenges.
They experienced winds of around 85 m.p.h., and of course, torrential rain. They got some water in through a living room window, a tree went down, the front door was slamming, and Meagan said sometimes it felt like the house was “breathing” with walls going in and out with each gust.
They lost power pretty early on and when they woke up this morning, they said it was freezing! (Note: It was 74 degrees.) I’m just glad it wasn’t blazing hot.
Gotta love those Freezing Floridians.
Nathan got to work and made a grand breakfast on his grill. They have to use up the food before it goes bad.
The feast. (I love how Meagan’s sweatshirt matches the spatula.)
After breakfast, it was time for some biking which I’ve sure involved a little puddle splashing. Nothing is better when you’re a kid than getting unnecessarily wet.
So proud of these tired, loving parents who are taking amazing care of those precious grand treasures of ours.
Ian is coming our way tomorrow with several inches of rain and gusts up to 45 p.m.h.
This storm brings back memories from a little over 33 years ago when we brought Nathan to this house as a newborn. Four days after his birth, Hurricane Hugo hit and we were without power for 10 days with a newborn and a new mom with postpartum blues. Bless Ken and Vernie for weathering all of that right along with us.
But back to Florida . . .
I know there are many thousands of people who have lost everything in the storm, some who even lost their lives. It’s hard for me to even fathom the stories behind the pictures that are being shown.
My heart is thankful for my family who is safe and saddened for families who will take many months and years to recover.
Praying God’s grace and comfort for them all.
I am so glad that Meganate and your grand treasures are all safe and sound. I’ve never been a fan of big wind so can’t imagine going through a hurricane and watching my walls ‘breathe’. Yikes!!!
Prayers for everyone affected by Ian and for safety for you as well.
LeeAnne,
Yeah, we went through a few hurricanes in Manteo and it’s such a disconcerting feeling because there’s not a thing you can do except hope and hang on!
Glad they fared well, we have so many friends and family in Florida and were so worried about them all, here in Raleigh we were hit harder yesterday than we imagined, we lost power for 24 hours, had a lot of power lines and trees down and a lot of flooding, but compared to areas of Florida, I am not complaining….we ended up going out to breakfast this morning as we had no power still and I didn’t realize I was still wearing my pajamas.
Dale,
I love hearing about breakfast in PJ’s. You probably didn’t know that there is a federal law that if there is no power, everyone is allowed to eat in public in their pajamas!
Thanks for keeping us informed on Nathan and Meagan and glad they are safe. You’ll be in our thoughts and prayers as Ian heads towards Charlotte. Apparently, we will be getting some wind and rain from the remnants of Ian.
Fred and Lucy,
We got quite a bit of rain yesterday and a little wind. Our lights flickered a couple of times but, thankfully, stayed on. Hope your Ian experience passes quickly.
Blessings to you both!
PTL that they are safe and they are weathering the storm. Boy, would I ever like to have it freezing like that in January or February – will have to think hard about that. Keep safe!
Sharyn,
Yes, Floridians and Minnesotans have different versions of freezing! 🙂
Glad they are all OK, heading your way now, I am seeing 50-60 mph predicted winds for Charlotte. What a welcome for you all. Hopefully it will fall apart once it hits the shore.
Lesley,
Well, we’ve weathered a few hurricanes on the OBX so hopefully, this storm won’t be bad by comparison. We got all of our errands and outdoor stuff yesterday so we can hunker down today.
So happy to hear that Meganate had minimal damage. Nate’s breakfast looks really good!! I’m thankful that so far none of my friends or family in Ian’s path have had major damage or injuries. Seeing the projected path for tomorrow had me thinking of Hugo, also. I was living just outside of Atlanta and remember the heavy rain. Even more, I was working for GTE and we had facilities in Sumter, SC that was heavily affected and in addition to equipment to get phones up & running (pre-cell days) we also sent trailer loads of water. Prayers that you weather Ian as well as you weathered Hugo as you come full circle in your new/old home.
Sue Ellen,
Yes, Nathan is a whiz with a grill! So nice they had a way to cook.
Anyone who has been through Hugo definitely has some strong memories to go along with it. Trailer loads of water sounded like the perfect thing to send.
Hopefully, Ian won’t hit hard and we’ll be back to sunny, cool fall days!
Prayers for them and all the people affected with this storm! So crazy and yes, hurricane Hugo was the first thing that popped in my frazzled brain! I hope all of us in NC weather this storm without a lot of damage!
Donna,
So you’re another Hugo-er! That was a crazy storm, wasn’t it? We’ll see what Ian has to “say” today.
Thanks for sharing the good news that your FL family is doing ok. I had to laugh at freezing at 74 degrees as a Minnesotan. Hopefully, their power will return soon. Glad you were able to be in safe surroundings 33 years ago. Hurricanes and baby blues are not a good combination.
Liz,
Yes, whatever Ian brings today, at least I won’t be a new mother. That was quite the combination.
I’m glad they are all ok, not flooded and still have a roof over their heads! It is 78 degrees and breezy here in the FL Panhandle from the bands of Ian as it pushes north. It feels cold to me after the very hot summer we’ve had. It was 100 degrees just a few days ago. After weathering quite a few hurricanes here, I understand what Megan means about feeling like the house is breathing. It’s the barometric pressure dropping. Hopefully they will have power restored quickly. I remember after Hurricane Ivan in 2004 we were without power for about 2 weeks. It gets very hot very fast once the winds die down and the humidity ramps back up. Prayers for you in NC as it makes its way up the coast!
Debbie,
Two weeks is a long time. I can only imagine the happy dancing going on when it was restored. God bless our linemen and women who are out there working so tirelessly to restore power. I can just picture Nate’s family having a major party moment.
Glad Nathan and Meagan didn’t have a lot of damage. Prayers that their power gets restored quickly. I was just talking to our youth pastor yesterday and he said his grandparents live in Bartow.
Phyllis,
Thanks for being thankful right along with them. It’s always good to hear that loved ones are safe!