This was our view from the 24th floor inside our apartment just about 6 months ago..
This was our view during hurricane Irene last August.
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| Photos via my Instagram, @ambetz |
Thankfully Irene didn't amount to much of a storm, but it was scary none the less being so high above and completely surrounded with floor to ceiling windows. I can't help but think about how, if our situation never brought us to leave, we would still have been in Brooklyn and what that would have meant in terms of Sandy.
I have friends in Dumbo that are boiling and brita'ing their water, displaced Lower East Siders that would've otherwise never found themselves temporarily seeking shelter in the Upper East Side, friends waiting in a never-ending line for a shuttle into Manhattan to take 3hours to get to work, and friends who are now reporting their losses on their car that floated out of a Village parking garage. My husband was working for the NYC Dept of Health which means he would have been working around the clock. Gap's offices on Thomas street still without power, means I would've spent most of my time alone and anxiety-ridden on what the time off meant for our workload. Stranded in a city who's bridges and tunnels just became accessible. The subway broken and under water still means how many more days or weeks until the buzz of New York is back? It's not only how we got around, but it was the heart of our city. To say it's paralyzing would be somewhat of an understatement.
In NJ, where we were looking to buy a house this year, the surrounding (commutable) areas are in complete disarray from the destruction. There are lines for gas parkway tolls deep taking 6 hours to get to the pump with no promise of filling up. People without electric and water....Charging cell-phones at firehouses or in their cars, taking their families to the YMCA for showers. Homes with trees in their living rooms, water breached doors, and sand in their backyards. Over 300+ families in each shelter scattered across the state. It's absolutely devastating.
I'm so thankful we did not experience Sandy first-hand, but so many of my close friends and family did that it hits very close to home for me. I don't know what kind of situation we would be in if we were still living in our city. It's something I'm incredibly thankful for and somewhat of a silver-lining with this move. In a place where everyone we came across said, "South Carolina? What about the hurricanes?!" and included with our house were hurricane boards & a schematic for our windows, I'm so grateful that this year we were spared because being down here at it alone would've been seriously detrimental.
I apologize that this week has gone a little off track with the blog. It was hard to wrap my head around fashion or even life for that matter, when my heart has been elsewhere. Next week we'll start fresh, but my thoughts will continue to be with everyone so deeply impacted by Sandy. Please know that you are not alone and after the clean-up & recovery things will be better than ever, as comes with any rebuilding effort. Point Pleasant (our car still reps from your dealership), LBI, Seaside, Atlantic City, Lower Manhattan, Queens, Long Island, and North Jersey communities, my heart is there with you all.
For anyone interested, donations are being made and coordinated through Facebook by local friends as well as volunteer clean-up efforts. If you'd like more information please email and I can get you in touch with the appropriate parties.
One last thought heading into the weekend: "I do believe that when we face challenges in life that are far beyond our own power, it's an opportunity to build on our faith, inner strength, and courage. I've learned that how we face challenges plays a big role in the outcome of them."
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