Day Twelve and Thirteen (I am combining to catch up)

Day Twelve blessings were that Josh and I have air conditioning.  We were able to find an apartment.  We got to talk about a lot of things that we needed to discuss during the drive to and from Springfield, Missouri.  We have great friends.  We have the finances to go out to eat, buy gas, purchase things we need, and not worry about what to do next in terms of money.

Day Twelve was very much like day eleven except being in a different city.  Josh and I drove to Springfield to find alternative housing and so I could get my stuff from my job.  I have explained before that I was previously employed as a contract social worker for an agency in Springfield.  I left my notary supplies there as I thought I was going to continue to work there over the summer.  After the storm, I decided it would be better for me to not work.  While there, my coworkers gave me some money.  I was so humbled.  This is a not for profit agency and they gave me money to help with the new costs we are experiencing.  We went to lunch and then drove around looking at apartment complexes and talking with thier staff.  We found a potential place in Republic, Missouri that is approximately one hour away from Josh’s work.  It is more expensive than we want, but could be furnished.  We realized that if we are going to stay in Joplin for the next few months, then we need to be closer to Joplin than Springfield.  There is still so much to do and to be an hour away would make everything more difficult.

We went back to Joplin to have dinner and to get mail from our friends.  We then went to the house and tried to decompress after the day.

Day Thirteen blessings included finding an apartment that is furnished and is within twenty minutes of Josh’s work.  We returned our library books without losing any to the storm.  The weather has been beautiful. Lots of sun and no rain, but it is hot.  We went for a walk.  We have a car that is ours.  Josh has a wonderful job.  We have great friends and family. 

Day Thirteen, we have found an apartment that is furnished!!!  The family that we are living with has purchased a new house and will be moving soon.  The family is trying to move into the new house and once they move the family will do a lot of reorganizing.  Long story short, we will move into the above garage apartment.  I have never been more excited about moving into a 900 square foot apartment. 

We learned that the Federal government is going to pay ninety percent of the demolition cost and the city is soliciting the State of Missouri to pay the other ten percent.  What a blessing.  This has been one thing that Josh and I have been agonizing over since this started. 

We returned all our library books that we checked out for our Miami vacation.  I know this is a small thing, but it means one less responsibility we have. 

I was able to talk with my family, which has been very helpful over the past week.  I have enjoyed letting them know how we have progressed and the celebrations we have over the little things.  I continue to talk with friends on Facebook that I have not spoken to in a very long time.  Some from elementary school have contacted me to lend support and encouragement.  Each person helps spur me on.  Thank you all.

After we returned the library books, we went and watched a movie at the house to relax.  Josh fell asleep, no surprise.  It occurred to me today that we have not really stopped since May 22^nd.  It feels like the days just run together and there has been no sluggish progression of time.  Time just goes quickly all the time because there is so much to do.  Josh mentioned that he wanted to go back to work on Tuesday of next week and this sent me into a panic.  I can think of so much that needs to be done and he wants to go back to work.  I am not mentally able to go to work right now!  The thought frightens me.  I am usually a person that enjoys working and facing each challenge, but I am not the same person right now that I am normally.  I am taking each day as it comes and nothing more right now.  Continue to pray for us as we continue this journey.

Day Eleven

Blessings for today were that I was able to cook!!!  I love to cook and this morning I made biscuits and gravy for the “family”.  We drove around to locate housing.  Josh and I have the financial resources to drive around to look at housing.  Gas is only $3.52 per gallon.  We were able to discuss car options for Josh.  Josh has never gotten to pick out a car because he always got whatever car was available and working at the time.  I want him to choose his car.  We hung out with friends for the evening.

Today we went to find housing.  Josh and I went all over the area and I called approximately 40 people about rentals.  There were none.  Not very surprising considering the amount of displaced families.  We learned that there are approximately 7000 families displaced and half of these families do not have insurance.  This was an incredibly depressing piece of information.  I cannot imagine going through this experience without insurance.  It frightens me to just think about it.

We were able to speak with our church about housing today.  They have a vast amount of people volunteering their homes for our support.  We were given the opportunity to stay in Nevada, Missouri; Pittsburg, Kansas; and Springfield, Missouri.  None of these locations are incredibly close, but are options should we need them.

We went to hangout with our friends in Carthage.  It really is a blessing to just sit and talk to people after being displaced.  Many of our friends have felt like they are not contributing, but they are.  To be able to have a meal with someone is really a blessing by itself.  We really appreciate the friends who have come to be with us.  I love it!

Day Ten

Blessings from today included that Josh and I were able to cash our checks from the insurance company.  Our mortgage is paid off!!  We spoke with attorneys and we do not have to rebuild unless we want to.  We were able to register for FEMA.  We had dinner with friends.  I spoke with family.  We were able to deter identify theft one more time.  We were able to obtain an address to use!

Josh and I drove into Joplin with large checks in hand to put into our savings accounts.  It was a very strange experience.  We calculated the amount of our checks and the grand total is almost three times Josh’s annual gross income.  Again, this is very overwhelming. 

Today I sat on the other side of the table.  I was the person seeking services and it was really interesting.  We arrived at the Multi Agency Resource Center, MARC, to fill out and apply for federal aid.  In order to do this we must show proof of residence.  This was not difficult as we both had our driver’s licenses.  Had we been home we may not have been able to produce this.  We were shuffled through the different interviews in order for the Red Cross to identify our immediate needs.  Then we were led to the section that allowed us to connect with the appropriate agencies that we directly needed.  The three agencies that we accessed where Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Post Office, and the Missouri Bar Association.  The Missouri Bar Association was most helpful as they were able to give us guidance on how to proceed with our property.  FEMA informed us on how to proceed with federal aid and will continue to meet with us to make sure that we have our needs met.  The Post Office let us change our address right there and so we did not have to wait in the incredibly long line at the post office.  This entire process made me feel like a sheep being herded from place to place.  Thankfully Josh and I have the personal resources to be able to work outside this system, but others in Joplin do not. 

We then went to our local game store.  The proprietors have graciously allowed us to use their address to receive mail.  We have been waiting for our rent check to come in so that we can deposit it, another large check.  On the way to the game store, Josh realized that he needed to get any personal documents out of the minivan since it will be towed soon.  We drove by and now the area really smells.  The refrigerators are all rotting and the smell of tornado still lingers in the air.  Josh got the documents and we drove away.  I did not even get out of the car. 

After running errands, we went back to the house.  We ate dinner as a “family” and then hung out.  Again, it was nice to just be able to sit back and relax.

Day Nine

Blessings for the day were that Josh and I took a break.  This allowed us to put things into perspective. 

Today Josh and I did nothing towards the house.  We took a break.  We celebrated Memorial Day at the house by swimming, playing games, and seeing friends.  I ate so much that now, as I type this, my stomach is upset because I ate too much.  Tomorrow business begins.  We plan on getting many errands completed and trying to find another place to live.  It is still very overwhelming.  Josh and I planned on moving eventually, but nothing was ever decided.  We wanted to make an informed decision after I was done with graduate school and potentially licensed.  This plan has been totally scratched.  We are totally open to anything that comes.  I am unemployed and Josh is able to go anywhere within his company, within reason.  We are not saying we are moving, but we are also not ruling out the possibility.

We had fun hanging out at the pool and enjoying the heat.  I relaxed and read a book while Josh got to play board games.  It was a nice little breather.  We will start working again in the morning as we still have a lot that needs to be done. 

Day Eight—It has been a week.

There were many blessings today.  We went to church and met a college friend.  She has been reading this blog and we were able to meet up.  She read a previous day's blog where I mentioned that Joplin has few tubs available for displaced individuals like myself.  We need these Rubbermaid tubs so that we are eventually able to move.  She brought eight of these totes.  It was such a blessing.  She and her spouse were also volunteering at our church for the weekend as it is Memorial Day Weekend.  Another blessing is that Josh and I were able to go to church.  We were able to see my in-laws again.  I have the most wonderful husband ever.  We went and hung out with friends for the day.  We ate dinner as a “family” at the house we are staying.  We played games with the children at the house.  I said goodbye to our house.  I also spoke with many of my family members today.

One week ago today, Josh and I were in sunny Miami when the tornado struck Joplin.  We are getting ready for church and I pray that it is just what we need.  I have never before been more excited and apprehensive to go to church.  I am tired of the exposure.  We keep leaving rooms when news comes on because we do not want to see it.  There is good information on the news and signs of hope in our community.  A story was about one person who is already rebuilding.  I thought that was neat.

We went to church this morning in order to be renewed.  It was great!  We met and spoke with many of our friends and church family and we were prayed over by these family members.  Ninety families in our church have no homes due to the storm and there were approximately two hundred and thirty families from our church in the disaster zone.  Today they announced that the official death toll is now 139 and counting.  There are still 42 missing and will soon, I am sure, be presumed dead.  Again I was grateful that we were not home. 

We went back to the house one last time.  I know I said that we were not going to return before, but I wanted to go back for one last shot at finding a family heirloom.  We searched and did not find it, but did find several pieces of jewelry that I had.  I also got sun burned.  After we left, I immediately wanted to go back and continue searching.  I know that this is just something that will happen.  This time I wanted clothes.  Mind you, the clothes that I wanted to go get have been in the rain for seven days now, sun for three, as well as exposed to other elements.  I really just want the city to bull doze it and then I will have no reason to return.  I have my moments of acceptance and then insanity not long afterward. 

I looked for a furnished apartment on the Internet in a nearby area.  It is very difficult to find a rental right now due to the amount of people searching for a home.  There are approximately 5200 people looking for a place to stay and there is not enough housing to accommodate the  amount of people in need.  Josh and I are not ready right now to buy a different home and we are not in the right frame of mind to make a major decision right now.  There are also too many unknowns right now.  We do not know if we will have to rebuilding, who will clear our lot, and many more logistical questions. 

Josh and I returned to the house and we were invited to the family Sunday Dinner followed by a movie.  Our hosts cook a big family dinner every week and it is a time to get together and see each other once a week.  We ate an amazing Taco Feast and watched “I am Number Four”.  It was really nice to have a sense of normalcy amongst the chaos.

Day Seven

The Blessings for today are that I was able to take a nap while Josh drove us to the house we are staying at.  I was able to visit with a friend for most of the afternoon and talk about baby stuff with her.  She has a child, not me.  Josh was able to move his flea market booth today in only one trip and condense his booth space from two to one.  He was able to collect his extra toys to donate to our church for children who lost their toys.  We found almost all of our DVD’s and we were able to salvage many of them.  We will still have to see if any of them will play.  An old friend from college contacted me as she and her husband came up from Fort Worth to help.  They read the blog from Day Two about how Rubbermaid Tubs are difficult to come by and they brought us 8 tubs.  We are getting them tomorrow.  We got our checks from our insurance agent today. 

Today has been a really hard day.  Josh and I need a break.  It was the first day in a long line of days that we truly feel displaced.  I miss the quiet of my house.  I miss being able to not talk to people when I am in the middle of something.  Please do not hear that I do not appreciate the calls and messages; I do.  I am just starting to feel the strain of being temporarily homeless.  I hesitate to use this word because we are not homeless; we are just our homeless.

I just do not know what else to say other than pray for Josh and I to be strong and lean on God.  He is the only thing that will get us through this. 

Day Six

This morning I was able to blow dry my hair, wear sweats and a t-shirt.  This is so nice!!!  We were notified first thing this morning that our insurance company is going to provide us with one year of rent up front.  We do not have to go through our insurance agency in order to get into a house and it does not have to be one of the homes they find for us.  Houses are going so quickly in Joplin that it is very difficult to get into a house, apartment, or shack out back with utilities.  What a blessing.  A high school friend contacted me who is a pilot with Delta Airlines.  He is sending me some buddy passes for people to fly in and out of the area.  We have no immediate need, but this is something that could come in handy in the future.  There are so many needs that we are unaware of that it is just nice to be prepared for things like this.  We have not gotten a flat tire.  We are so blessed to have a car that survived, that I am hoping with all the nails around that we will be able to get out of this mess without having to replace a tire.

I got up and ate one of the best breakfast sandwiches of my life.  When I awoke this morning I was craving a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich.  My hosts had one and it was so good.  Talk about God providing for all my needs when I would have just eaten cold cereal or a cup of coffee.  I was able to watch old “Bugs Bunny” and “Tom and Jerry” cartoons on Cartoon Network today.  It was nice to laugh at nothing as I lay under my newly laundered only slightly stained memory quilt.  I mean now it just has more character.

Josh was in contact with Accenture’s Human Resource Representative who has applied us for the Accenture Charitable Trust Grant for $2500.  We were approved.  She is also trying to get Josh enough PTO for all of June so that he can continue to take care of our little family.  Again the generosity of the people we know has brought us to tears. 

Some of today was very hard.  I do not want to dwell on that.

One amazing thing that happened today was that we got some more of my family heirlooms out of the house.  We went back for a badly mangled table that I was super fixated on.  I know this is stress and loss.  When we got there I was not in appropriate foot attire and as I got out of the car, I stepped on a nail.  It did not penetrate the skin, but I will probably never wear flip flops again.  (This is a rather jaw dropping statement.)  And yes I did get a tetanus shot after we left as a preemptive measure.  As I was sitting in our car, Josh went and got the table.  I decided I would open the door and see who was around and saw that there was a fire department truck from Weber, Missouri.  I stopped them as we needed to get the license plates off our vehicle for insurance purposes and while there they offered to get anything out of the house we needed.  I asked Josh if there was any way our drop leaf table could have survived and he humored me and looked.  It was under our living room wall being stepped on, rained on, and tornado-ed.  Josh and three firemen moved the wall and pulled out my almost intact drop leaf table.  It was amazing.  I realized that this was all I cared about for the most part.  I do not think I will be going back for a while.  It is a strange feeling.

We also met a photographer from the New York Times who was photographing our area.  The New York Times is trying to reproduce the shots taken by Google Earth of many streets in Joplin.  This will give a better before and after shot of our street.  He was saying many interesting things and was going to take some photographs for us and email us copies.  Josh had a great idea to frame some of these images to remind us later that we need to be mindful of how stuff is only temporary.  I have a wonderful husband.

Just to mention, Josh and I were married four years ago today.  May 27, 2007 was our happy day and we are both truly thankful for both being here to share another year together.  We have had a really excellent year despite the tornado.  Over the past 17 months we have gone to 23 states including Hawaii in December 2009.  We have seen many baseball parks and experienced quite a few wonderful things.  I have been blessed more than I could have asked or imagined.  He is a wonderful perfect match for me and I cringe at what the alternative could have been just days ago. 

We received word that Josh’s office has given us money that was a significant amount considering we are in Joplin.  We have received almost $5,000 in donations alone.  This does not include other in kind donations of respite, food, clothing, and airline tickets.  We are truly blessed.