only six months ago

It seems strange to me that it was only a few months ago I was desperately packing boxes and checking my list.

I made trips out to the car, arms full of falling apart boxes full of memories and old tax returns.

I figured out how to turn on the sprinklers, and decided that was all I could do outside. I had the car parked in the driveway, full of what amounted to three people's lives, ready to run.

And then I waited. I watched the news. I answered the phone, communicated with neighbors and friends and parents who were making the long drive back home.

I don't think about it now. It gave me, gave many of us, a great scare, but no more than that. Our house and neighborhood are both still standing.

I walk around my house, surrounded by familiarity.

Now there is a revised list hanging on the side of our refrigerator. One that includes clothes for us, one that means drawers have been reorganized and sturdier boxes are close at hand.

It is strange to remember those few days. Especially that day when it was just me. I was the only one around. I was responsible. But I distinctly remember realizing that as long as I got myself and the cat out, we would be okay. The rest was truly just stuff. We would recover.

We are prepared, as a family and as a community. No one really thought, I don't think, that it would happen. But it did, and we were some of the lucky ones.

***

I'm talking about this fire from the summer.