We no longer have a pre-evacuation status on our city, our home or on our lives. God has been so good to us.
Last week was the most torturous and longest week of our lives. Here is an idea of how it went for us:
Saturday - June 23rd - In the morning, we sighted a large, very dark plume of smoke from our upstairs windows on a mountain not too far in the distance. Later that afternoon, we had dinner out with friends. As we drove south on the Interstate, we could see the fire unfolding more and more on the mountain.
Sunday - June 24th - The smoke started to become more and more intense around our home. Noah woke up that morning with allergy-like symptoms from all the smoke. He snotted and sneezed all day long. There was no escape from it unless we left the city. On the way to church that morning, the Air Force Academy was littered with all kinds of rescue helicopters, fire trucks, police cars and ambulances. An unsettling sight.
Monday - June 25th - More smoke. Much closer. We could see flames from our upstairs windows.
Tuesday - June 26th - The fire was creeping more and more towards us. All kinds of ash and soot made its way into our home - all over the floors, countertops and furniture. Later that evening we had friends over for dinner and basically just sat in front of the TV and watched in silenced horror as the fire exploded and took many homes captive within a short amount of time. Dinner was good, but we felt ourselves wanting to throw it back up.
Wednesday - June 27th - Jen cancelled plans with a friend for the day - too nervous to be too far away from home "just in case." At 12:05pm, we received a pre-evacuation notice for the city of Monument - the whole area west of I-25. We were packed and out of the house by 2pm, thanks to Jen's Mom and Brother. During that time, our phones were ringing almost nonstop with calls and texts - all from friends making sure we were ok, that we had a place to go, that we had the help we needed to get out, that they were praying and that they loved us. What a tremendous blessing and an overwhelming feeling to know you are THAT loved and cared for.
Thursday - June 28th - Jen cancelled plans with another friend, yet again. She needed to be the eyes and ears of the home while Greg was away at work - "just in case." ;) The fire continued to rage north towards us. We started to feel less and less confident about things staying in just a "pre-evac" for us.
Friday - June 29th - In the morning, as Jen drove into town, she drove by (and with!) all of the National Guard emergency vehicles that were sent in to protect all the homes still standing and left under a mandatory evacuation. Unnerving and reassuring at the same time. Later that afternoon, at 4:35pm, both of us received reverse 911 calls from the Sheriff's department telling us to "prepare to evacuate." As we stood and looked at each other, dumbfounded and numb, our dear friend and neighbor called and said it was a false alarm - that she had seen on TV that it was an accident. Whew!
Saturday - June 30th - The fire containment went up and we were feeling more assured about the situation as the hours passed. At 9:45pm, our pre-evacuation was lifted and we were able to return to normal. For now. We can breathe a sigh of relief. No more being "on edge."
It was so surreal. To have to go through your home in a hurry and start grabbing things you think you can't and shouldn't live without - all while looking around one last time at every beautiful thing that makes your house a home that will be left behind. It puts into perspective very quickly what really IS and ISN'T important to have. We kept saying, "this is just a house and it's just stuff - we just don't want to leave anything behind that was important during the rush to get out."
Our home smells of smoke. But at least we still have a home! It's tiresome to constantly be wiping down things from all the ash and soot that blows in day after day. But at least our home didn't burn down! It's just so sad to vacuum, and think of all the people who don't have floors to vacuum anymore. To dust the coffee table, and think about all the people who don't even have a table to dust. To mop the floors, and think about all the people who WISH they had a floor full of ash and soot to mop up every day. That every little piece of ash and soot is a piece of someone else's home......
Life is not rough. Life is good. And we are so very, very blessed.
