Too soon after the storm, someone asked whether this was the new normal. I replied, no way!! Nothing about this is normal! Search and rescue teams don't normally come to the door to check on us. Roads and bridges to town don't normally wash away. Would we run out of fuel for the generator before electric power was restored? Hearts didn't normally beat out of control. Would we be able to get into town before the heart medicine ran out?
We were to learn that we were fortunate. We didn't learn right away, as we couldn't access the news. No TV. No internet. We still had a house. We had clean water from our well. Running the generator four or so hours a day seemed to preserve the food in the refrigerators. In a few days, mobile cell towers gave us some access from our phones. We learned of the disaster in Asheville. In Swannanoa. In Black Mountain. Really, anywhere that was near a river. A stream. A creek.
The road was patched and detoured remarkable quickly. We got into town the day before we ran out of meds. Electricity was restored in a week. We still had 30% of fuel for the generator. A fuel truck refilled us a few days later. Internet was restored in a couple of weeks. Our electric service is still running on a backup substation as the substation which used to serve us went completely under water. Now that winter temperatures increase electrical demand, the backup fails periodically. Trees fall on the lines occasionally. Even a squirrel shorted the line once. Our generator has gotten plenty of use.
Mike's cousin used to say, "the frontier is not for everyone." Mike's cousin's and his grandparents settled early in Colorado. Some of that "frontier" must have rubbed off on Mike. We like seeing the mountains every day. Even if the weather can be extreme. Even if it is "too remote" as another friend said.
There must be something about Hurricanes whose names start with "H." When we first had a place on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina, Hurricane Hugo ravaged the area. Hugo was still a hurricane when it got to Charlotte, people said. Well, Helene was still powerful when it got to Western North Carolina.
OK, enough about the storm.
The year started with a big celebration. Big for us, anyway. We celebrated New Years on the Isle of Palms. And, our 50th wedding anniversary later that week in Charleston. We had a great time! If you were there, you did too. :-)
Other celebrations included Mike's birthday. at the Pisgah Inn Beth's significant birthday with a catered party on our deck. [Since Beth identifies as being 27, how can her birthday be that significant?] A return to Spoleto for a weekend of performances. A celebration of Baxter's life with a beautiful service in Laurinburg, NC. And, just recently, two Thanksgiving dinners. One with duck. The other with a very large turkey which was raised by our neighbors. Thank you Elizabeth & Scott & Saro.
We had a few unusual experiences. In January, a tree fell in our back yard. It was just caused by winter winds, no named storm. In April, we traveled to the nearest point to the path of totality. In Indiana, we were treated to clear sky and 4 minutes of total solar eclipse. In October, we got to see a comet. It was very difficult to see directly, but with the cameras on our smartphones, we "saw" it for 3 nights. On TV, we have been watching the volcanic eruptions in Iceland. Shawn Willsey is a geologist with a YouTube following who explains the science quite well. He has also teamed up with a drone pilot, Isak Finnbogason, to show some dramatic views of the eruptions.
Besides Helene, our other calamity started with Beth's knee replacement. Her surgery was a month to the day before the storm hit. As if the rehab weren't stressful enough, the stress of the surgery itself triggered her heart to got into AF. The AF required a month of medication before the cardiologist could attempt correcting her heart rhythm. That appointment with the cardiologist was prevented by the storm. It wasn't until another month that the doctor could attempt a cardioversion. We are happy that it returned her heart rhythm to normal and it has stayed that way so far. Needless to say this complication has delayed her rehab.
Going into full caregiver mode also stopped Mike's work on the election. Mike did get a chance to connect with a number of good, dedicated people in the local area. And if the results didn't go our way nationally, the state results were much more encouraging.
Finally, no year would be complete without our menagerie of flying and four legged critters around the property. We have learned to recognize some of them and to see their families growing up.
Perhaps after a few months since the storm and Beth's operation, we have achieved a new normal. The spirit of the holidays helps too. We wish you all the best this year and hope the holidays lift your spirits as well.
Love, Beth & Mike
