I have not posted a blog in a few weeks. At first the blog running through my head was, “I Have Been Lying To Myself!”. It was about travel. I kept telling myself I was okay with being a homebody and not traveling. It seemed everyone else in retirement was traveling and I kept having to fight the Compare & Despair about it. And then, we decided to buy into a travel club, and I went on a week spa trip to Mexico, and I was planning trips for end of this year and next year. And it felt good. That blog still might find its way to page.
But more recently it’s been Helene and now Milton that has kept me away from blogging. If you’ve followed any news, you’ll know the west coast of Florida was hit badly by Hurricane Helene. Storm surge was 1 foot above all the flood barrier protection we just installed on our home. Meaning we had 3 feet of water inside the house and closer to 4 feet in the garage. We spent days digging things out and trying to salvage anything. Storm surge water is nasty (usually contains sewage) – salt water destroys metal (rust begins in 48 hours) and starts producing mold within 24 hours. I was so fortunate to have a number of friends who were not in the flood zone take away bags of clothing and bins of dishes to wash and sanitize. But appliances, furniture, electronics, bicycles, motorcycles, craft supplies – all need to be tossed. Hubby lost his gun collection, his knife collection, his 50-year-old album collection, his newest toy hobbies (remote control cars, Onewheel, Esk8 boards and E-scooter), and who know what else as we just pitched water-logged box after water-logged box. We lost all our books – from our TBR piles to the many favorites we kept when we moved. We lost photo albums, heirlooms from our parents, mementos from our travels.
I know that we’ve only lost stuff. Hubby and pup and I are safe, at the moment. But it’s just devastating to see your entire life tossed into a pile (a huge pile) at the street.
Just as we were clean and sanitized in the house, Hurricane Milton set sight on us. As I type this, he’s heading directly for our area, less than 2 weeks after Helene, with higher surge predicted plus more extreme winds. We are evacuated to a non-flood zone, but winds are a huge worry even here.
To say the last few weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions doesn’t even come close to the situation.
- There’s so much gratitude to my local friends. I’ve written a number of times about close friends, casual friends, and acquaintances. These casual friends and acquaintances showed up. Ladies from my new book club and gardening clubs who did everything from wash things to help pack things to move things to the trash pile at the curb. Stronger male friends of friends who helped move things I just couldn’t with hubby. All these people kept me upright and moving forward.
- There’s even more gratitude to the family we evacuated to stay with from Helene. Our 2-night stay turned into a 10-night stay. They washed things with the hope of saving items – including way too many shoes. They coordinated my laundry brigade, found us a storage unit, found me options for long term housing, have a garage full of my salvaged items, and cooked us dinner every night (after 10-11 hour days of digging things out). I really have no idea where we would be today without them.
- So very grateful to our contractor. He got a team in to demo away the walls (4-foot drywall cut to aid dry out and mold mitigation), clean and sanitize the main house in days. Yes, now with Milton, it might need to all be done again… higher surge, higher cut of drywall. But I know he’ll be there as soon as he can – they restrict access to the barrier island until it is safe to drive on the roads. With Helene that was 3 days. With Milton, who knows. (And yes, if you read the above numbers, 3 days is after mold and rust begin – less to salvage.)
- So grateful to the many prayers from friends, near and far. It helps to re-read them when I spiral into despair.
As we hunker down to face Milton, we really do not know what tomorrow will bring. There will be a lot to do, many decisions to be made. We hope the house/property survives and if it does, we will plan to rebuild, building “up”. We have a lead on a long-term rental that isn’t too far away. (Pray that comes through – lost three good leads already.) We will downsize even what we saved – clothing, shoes, blankets, and dishes can be shared with those who lost more than we did. Hubby’s new phrase is, “We’re gonna live the Florida lifestyle” which means minimalism. Yes, hubby the hoarder might have had a pivotal life transition point.
I might be erratic in posting going forward, but wanted you all to know what was going on. Life is full of transitions, and this is major one for us.
retirementtransition 
Wow, Pat. I can’t even imagine what you are going through. Thank goodness for friends and family. Sending love!
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oh my gosh Pat, I’m late to reading this post and my heart breaks for all you (and your neighbors) have lost with Helene, I pray it was no worse with Milton. Please give us an update, when you can, just to let us know you’re safe 💔
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I chose your blog because it was titled Retirement in Transition. Your entry here gave me a deeper sense of what people have been doing through in Florida, aside from news accounts, I am in the next transition, retire 15 years ago, and now husband has Alzheimer. There are always transitions!!
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I just stumbled upon your post. I’m praying daily for all of you affected by these hurricanes. I’m from Louisiana and I know the loss all to well. Please know that you aren’t forgotten and you will overcome these days. Can’t wait to read more from you.
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Oh dear, I’m so sorry for what Helene did to you, Pat. I hope you did okay with Milton. – Marty
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Pat, I’m sorry you had to go through this. It’s so hard to lose things you weren’t ready to let go of. Hurricanes leave you little time to prepare, though it sounds like you guys were prudent in mitigating damage. I’m happy to hear you experienced the upside of disaster. Having lived decades in hurricane territory, I can’t say enough about how the true kindness of people is revealed during these situations. Best of luck to you and kudos for taking the time to write about your situation.
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I’m so sorry to hear about your losses. I hope you will continue to let us know you are doing. Wishing you God’s speed.
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I’ve been thinking about you. So sad to hear what you’ve experienced. It’s so hard to even imagine losing everything. I have a friend in Bradenton that I’m waiting to hear from. We are concerned about our home away from home – Indian Shores. Thanks for sharing what’s happening. So glad you have such great friends.
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Oh Pat – it’s so much worse than I’d imagined. I’ve been thinking about you on and off and the dread you’ve had about something like this happening (and then happening again!) You’ve coped amazingly with it all and I don’t know how you haven’t just fallen in a heap and given up – all that loss, all that cleaning, all that starting over….. your can-do attitude is just beyond me.
I’m so glad it hasn’t defeated you and that you plan to stay and build again when this has all passed. You’re in my thoughts – and I must confess to wondering if it would thin out your husband’s hoardings, and it made me smile when you mentioned it at the end. So sorry for all that you’re going through – but head up and I hope a rental appears on the horizon very soon. xx
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Sorry to hear you’re having to deal with all that, but glad that you’re somewhere safe. Wishing you strength to deal with the long road back to normalcy.
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Wishing you well. Stay strong.
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Pat, people always seem to show their true colors in times of need. I am happy that your friends were there for you. I assumed your home sustained damage, based on your location. Tonight will be a rough night for you, and everyone in the eye of the storm. My heart hurts for you. Please post an update when you can. Stay safe.
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Good to hear from you and that you are safe and dry. So sorry that your move to Florida has come with unexpected challenges. My daughter-in-law who has always encouraged us to move to their neighborhood near Gainsville to be near them told me yesterday, don’t move to Florida. So glad that friends you thought were only casual really stepped up to be so much more in your time of need.
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Oh Pat sending you love, hugs and prayers. At least you are safe but your whole experience must be heartbreaking. Absolutely devastating to lose so much of your life and home. I can’t imagine how you must be feeling.
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I’m so sorry to hear you are in the zone twice!
An acquaintance who moved with her husband and two young children about 6 months ago, are back up in Connecticut in an airbnb to escape Milton. Their home already experienced water damage in Helene.
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Wow. What a terrible thing to go through, yet it sounds like you are handling it incredibly well. Sending you lots of warm wishes.
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So sorry to hear of you being affected by the first storm and now the second storm. How awful. Sending you best wishes in getting through it.
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Oh, bless your heart, and attitude. I ache for you and all those having such terrible times. Wish I had more $$ to send disaster relief in NC and FL, but I’m filling in with prayers. Thanks for sharing this, and know we’ll be pulling for you in the long slog toward recovery. ❤️🩹
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Held my breath all the way through this post, and continue to hold it as we watch Milton move toward Florida. All of the work you did to clean and sanitize and begin the repair of your home only to have another storm on your horizon. I had no idea mold could grow in 24 hours. My gosh!! And hadn’t thought about what ‘waters’ surge waters actually are. Hazmat situation in so many ways. I feel so ignorant and helpless.
I thought about your TBR pile of books. Would love to gift you one that you were especially looking forward to reading. Please message me if I can do that little bit for you. A very minimal, temporary distraction.
Big hugs, friend. Continued prayers.
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So sorry. Keeping you in my thoughts.
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