It’s 1:30 in the morning. I am a morning person, usually. Meaning, I like the mornings. I do my best stuff in the mornings. But not at 1:30. Usually it’s after the sun comes up. But here I am, wide awake.

I suppose I have a little anxiety over the hurricane. I am so grateful to not have to deal with it alone. Just so utterly grateful.

I’ve been through hurricanes before, up north. But generally when they get to New England they are moving pretty fast. Hurricane Gloria, a category 3, passed over us in an afternoon. I remember Hurricane Bob, in 1991, and being down at the marina, putting extra lines on our boat, walking the docks back to the club house as the storm surge rose over the docks and was up to our knees. We waited it out in the clubhouse with about a dozen or so other boaters. That storm actually went a bit east at the last minute, and ripped up Rhode Island pretty well, but was only (only, lol) blowing about 80 mph where we were.

But there’s no experience to prepare you for a Cat 4 or 5 hurricane in flat, low Florida. I am happy that at the moment they are not expecting torrential rain. Of course, those things can all change, but that’s really my biggest fear. Visions of Houston in my head.

We think we have solved the no bottled water anywhere problem. We’re going to go to Lowe’s tomorrow and get some 5 gallon food-quality pails with lids, and fill them with water. Then we’ll get some heavy contractor garbage type bags, and put one in my garbage can, and fill that with water for the toilets, as well as fill the tub. I’ll go food shopping tomorrow.

My sister and brother-in-law asked us to run to their house if we have a chance and see if we can get some of the good furniture raised up off the floor. We’re pretty sure they will have water in the house, they are only 11 feet above sea level. There’s not much else to be done for their house, but to wait it out and see what happens, they are so close to the ocean. Though gratefully, the storm surge will likely be on the east coast, not here. The tide will be high, the storm hard, but maybe the surge won’t be as bad as it could be. I guess we just pray….

I’ve had so many offers from people in CT, and from my sister and her family in Austin, to come there to get out of harm’s way. It’s tempting, really. But I don’t think I can leave my things, my home here, wondering if everything survived. Of course, I’d leave if there is an evacuation order, but I’d just go to an evacuation center. There are 3 close to me. The water will rise, and then fall, and I’d want to be able to get back here and begin to clean up.

Maybe we’ll be totally blessed and Irma will take a hard right out to the middle of the Atlantic and leave us all alone. All this worrying and angst would be for naught and that would be just fine with me. If that happens it will have been a good drill in preparedness.

I’m not sure if writing this helped me or made me worry more. I think I’ll try to do a little meditation to settle down and then go back to bed. There’s a lot to do tomorrow, and I need to be rested.

Love and light….