from the great beyond

she's back! from the hell that is surviving a hurricane... having your life turned upside down... losing many friends... watching more people lose it all... it has been 2.5 months since a gal named katrina came to town and it is a mess folks. i am just now on the brink of putting my life back together and i am one of the lucky ones. i have seen so many good things and so many bad things-the amplitude of the sine curve is amazing sometimes. the best part is that i have a job and my house is in the midst of mostly minor repairs and i have gained many friends. i'm starting to manage to avoid spontaneous crying episodes although i have been putting off a visit to my friendly fema official...

the one thing i am thankful for is that time keeps marching on whether i am ready for it to or not. and the only thing that got me through many days were the cute and caring emails from friends halfway around the world-you really cannot know how much your quick emails meant to me in the face of total darkness and despair. i used to think that i was very strong and independent, but this disaster reminds me that i need love and support too. i have felt an acute lonliness that i have never yet know and i hope to never experience again. and the navy has been outstanding to its civilian personnel in ways that most of us could never repay.

things are far from 'normal' and will not be so for several years. that's okay-i just don't think about it too much. i have some things that i need to work on and i think that this storm just helps me to see that quicker than i might otherwise have. it is a situation unlike anything else and one that you cannot fathom (which is a good thing) but in other respects it is just like everything else-change and adaptation are the only constant things in life. we just are lucky enough to experience this to the extreme!

i just wanted to say 'hi' to everyone and let you know i was okay. in the time since katrina i have become an expert roofer (thanks to hurricane rita), shot 3 different types of handguns, cried in front of people that i do not know, provided a shoulder to cry on to more people that i do not know, been helped by people i have never seen nor will ever see again, realized that i should be a home remodeler because i rip out sheet rock like a fiend, and come to understand more about human compassion than i ever hoped to know. so, thank you all from the bottom of my heart for caring enough to ask how things are and remind me that you care. bless you!

luvs.m

ps- HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTI! luv you!