Well...here we go again...June 1...the Start of Hurricane Season...Its kinda weird when I think about it...Up until two years ago, I don't think I could've even said when the season started, thats how unaffected I always was. Just seems like the last two years have more than made up for the last 23 years of seasons...Before the 04 season, I had only experience maybe 1 hurricane..and it wasn't even a "hurricane" by the time it hit my area...I remember I was still in high school..but I don't remember her name...obviously, it wasn't that impressive to this teenager...lol..Andrew came in 92, but that was way south of me, so again, it didn't affect me...I thought it was awful, but, ignorant as I was, didn't see what the fuss was all about...
Ahhh...well...you live and learn...Now I've been affected by Charlie, Francis, Jeanne, Ivan...and that was 04...last year, I didn't have too much going on around me, but there were some scares...I definately pay closer attention to the season, and I will do so from now on...Our local newspaper, The St. Petersburg Times screams out their headline..."
YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN. READY?" "
After a catastrophic storm, even the best-run government services might take 72 hours to reach you. Surviving that long will be up to you." Hows that for a nice Good Morning, Florida....lol...And, let me just say right up front, I am NOT ready. At all...I will do like most of the rest of the schmucks in this area and wait for the last possible moment, cuz ya know...It won't happen to me....I don't know...I know for a fact that it can and WILL happen, eventually..I live in my little glass bubble, hoping for the best, and being scared of the worst...But, after Katrina, and even Andrew, for that matter...I don't think that being prepared, with your water and cell phone, and three days worth of food, is really gonna make all that much difference in the long run...If we get slammed with a storm, Im the fuck out of here...I will not be one of those fools who "sit and wait it out"....I know that with Charlie, I packed up my kids, dogs, and important papers, and went to my brother in laws house...If you didn't know, I live in a mobile home, so, even in a tropical storm, I "HAVE" to evacuate. Anyways...I went to his house, and Hubby was gonna meet us there...Well...that storm turned, and we were allowed back home..The storms after that, hubby "waited them out" at our place, while I took the kids to my mom in laws...well..that was a joke..lol...she lost power and cable...hubby was fine with power and cable at our house....needless to say, the storm after THAT..we all stayed...with power, and cable...again, mom lost both...Im not trying to sound cavalier about it...I really am not...but I think most Floridians, or anyone of the states affected, tend to watch the news, and we all learn a little something about these systems...You have to take it all with a grain of salt, hope for the best, and try to get through...Now, if there was even the slightest chance that I had a "Katrina" heading my way, you can be damn sure, I wont be anywhere around...not this state...we are a long SLIM state, so these storms are usually twice our size..so, yeah...I'd be heading north...farrrrrr north...with my kids...and with my dogs...don't know if the hubby would come, but never fear....I aint THAT stupid...lol
So, anyways...that is about all on the hurricane topic....if there are any thats heading my way, I will let ya know...Lord knows, that's about the only thing lately for me that WOULD be "blog worthy"...lol..
Other local news...A young mom just north of me, about maybe 20 miles...The mom of two sets of twins...14 yr old boys, with Cerebral Palsy, and 5 yr old twin girls..well, yesterday....she tried to kill herself and the boys...her neighbors say she was a little overwhelmed, they just didn't realize how much so....I don't know how I feel about it...my first thought was God...what a monster...HOW??? WHY???? And I read the story this morning, and it just is soooo hard...the boys names are Jeremy and Jacob...so, that was just awful for me....I see my sis in law, with her jeremy and jacob, and of course joshie, too...but I know that some days with Jacob are just soooo hard for her...But she has such a great support system, from alot of family around, to her neighbors, the school system...and I wonder...did that mom have that?? they all said she was so into her boys..she spent time at school and buying them their special needs chairs, and other equipment...but she was divorced from their father, who lives in another state...Her live in boyfriend is the father of her girls...But, did she have family??? anyone else to support her when having two boys with severe special needs got to be overwhelming??? I don't know...I hate that she did this...but the good thing is, both boys survived, and they are going to be okay...That is a plus, and hopefully, they will be sent to live with their dad, and he can take care of them...But one neighbor said this about the mom..."She was crazy about them, she loved on them the same way you'd love on a regular kid"....geezzz.. with that kind of mentality, if this is what the mom's support was like,...well...I don't know...you all probably think I'm okay with her doing that...let me say that I am NOT!!! It's never okay to hurt your kids, ever, and I don't care WHAT excuse you can come up with...but since having a special needs child, I have learned to NOT judge people...until you walk in their shoes...Patience, understanding, empathy, hatred, racism...it all comes when you have a child with a handicap...you never expect it, you never welcome it...and you sure as hell never understand totally...but until you walk in those shoes...Always put yourself in those shoes, and ask yourself...Could you do it??? the easy heart felt answer is...Of course...That mother is a piece of shit....and I would totally agree...but there is a fine line that all mothers walk....And its a line most of us don't ever cross...but there are many, as we all know, that DO cross that line. I try to keep in mind that Thank God, Im strong enough...I have that something...to not cross it...but I also know..that line...is a scary place...and most moms would agree...then you have those moms...THE SAINTS I call them...who never admit to feeling overwhelmed at times...ready to slap that child into a wall if they do whatever it is, one more time, but can't ever admit to it. Their kids are "great". well behaved, the best kid in the world.Please..no kid is wonderful 100 percent of the time..you just have to know when to admit it, and be able to go from there...I don't know if anyone understands what I'm saying...lol...My sis in law and I talk about that when we read these storys....we start out with...god, she should be shot, she needs yada yada yada...then we both think back to nights with literally NO sleep...emotions running on high....tears coming at the drop of a hat...the kids screaming...fighting with each other, talking back, slamming doors..slamming each other...and think...THANK YOU GOD...for giving us that little something...the thing that keeps us from crossing that line....I don't know...
I think I've rambled way tooo much...maybe even said things some of you won't agree with...but hey...this is my blog, right??..lol...and not for nothin, I haven't really rambled a good ramble in awhile...lol.
Anyways...take care....
