“Hurricane threat “- the dreaded two words for people who live on the beach. For my family, preparing for hurricanes has become as routine as buying school supplies, and like this year, often done on the same day.
We live on a very narrow island in the Southern Outer Banks of North Carolina. They call it the Crystal Coast. If you look at the photo, Emerald Isle is at the western part of that little sliver of land sitting in the ocean. On the south side of us is ocean, and just on the other side is the Bogue Sound. It is heaven - it truly is. I absolutely love our little island, but once they announce that it’s hurricane season, it’s time to hold your breath a little, and know you may be in for a ride…
We've had a place in Emerald Isle for 15 years. Our first beach house was 5 rows back with a nice little view of the ocean, and safety, we felt, from most storms. We always said we were happy there, with no desire to be oceanfront. Walking down to the beach with the kids and all our beach stuff loaded in a wheelbarrow (quite a sight), dragging all the stuff through the public access and trudging up the dune to finally be hit in the face with that wondrous ocean breeze was worth every sweaty, whiney step. But when we were relocated to England from Toronto, we sold our house when the market was hot, and we found ourselves with some extra cash. There was this perfect oceanfront lot for sale just down the street from our 5th row house. It had a high dune, and no public access around us. So… we decided to take the risk and build oceanfront!! How excited we were! It really was hard to believe. My husband’s dream was to have a house on the ocean. So we said – “Let’s do it!!” People would ask if we were worried about hurricanes. Clearly we thought of this, who wouldn’t? But we made the choice to build on the ocean, and the beauty and peace of it was worth the risk.... we said.... we hoped. So, while living in England, we had our house built here in North Carolina, meeting with the builders on our trips back to the states. This was, for us, a labor of love.
The girls and I moved to the beach house permanently in 2003, and my husband planned to follow once he retired from Johnson & Johnson in 2004 (He did retire from Johnson & Johnson in 2004, only to take over a couple of other companies and continue commuting to EI to this day). We had moved a lot with my husband’s job, and Emerald Isle was the only true home base my kids knew. I wanted life to slow down for them – for all of us. They had lived in a world of people who were given too much and were all so similar – corporate people, professionals, and there was a sense of entitlement that I didn’t want my children to adopt. I wanted my kids to be exposed to people from all walks of life, to choose their friends by who they were inside, not what they had, and to understand that it’s character that makes someone a success – not position…and Carteret County offered the diversity I sought for my family.
So we settled into our new lives on Emerald Isle. We weren’t there for more than a month when we were faced with our first hurricane. I remember not knowing a soul and sitting in the chair at the hairdressers listening to the women talking about the impending hurricane. I kind of ignored it -- until I heard someone say "Category 3" and "in two days". I thought, “What??? I flipped! Here I was alone with a third grader and a 7th grader in a brand new school, in a brand new town, knowing no one, and faced with a Category 3 hurricane! What the hell was that??? I had no idea!! So I called Tom "suggesting" he leave PA and come to NC pronto!!!! Tom grew up in NC and lived in FL for years. He knew hurricanes and very calmly told me there was no hurry and to calm down. I was from Indiana - used to tornados, which hit as soon as you got the warning - and I WAS in a hurry - and not calm! But, I soon learned you had days to prepare...thankfully. So - prepare I did. I think I took every single painting off the walls, every piece of crystal off the shelves, every document we ever received and every single picture and packed them in my SUV. I wasn't leaving anything behind. When Tom got to NC he looked at me like I was nuts, but being my very calm cool and collected husband who knows better than to mess with a panicking woman who feels her family is a risk, he let me do my thing. I was packed at least a day before we left, and then the waiting began…. I was so shocked at the calmness of everything. Where were the waves? Where was the wind? Why was the beach still so beautiful and the birds just hanging out?
Once the hurricane shutters were up and the patio furniture inside, we packed up the kids, our Golden Retriever Fluffy, our two kitties, Sprinkles and Capri, our fish Blue Grotto, and off we went to a hotel in Raleigh - to shelter - to safety. The storm pretty much missed Emerald Isle and went inland - crossing over Raleigh. Are you kidding me? We were stuck in the middle of a monsoon! Our hotel lost electricity and the backup generator failed. The fire alarm went off, and as we were feeling our way out the door my oldest daughter Christine knocked the fish bowl over, and Tom stepped on and squashed Blue Grotto. What a fiasco! So finally, we went back to Emerald Isle, and found our house essentially damage free. Whew!!
After that experience I pledged to approach the whole hurricane season in a much calmer way. Each year we have threats, and every year if a hurricane is predicted we put the shutters up and bring in the furniture. We always evacuate when the officials call for it, and I always bring our old photos that I don't have on a computer and pack up the pets. Otherwise, it's all pretty routine. I've learned that hurricanes are usually pretty slow moving, and it's better to be safe than sorry. The fact that you do have days to prepare is a blessing, but sometimes it’s a curse as well. It gives you time to worry…. to fret…. to imagine the worst – to sit glued to the Weather Channel only to watch the same thing over and over. But honestly that’s not healthy. We just have to do the best we can to physically prepare ourselves for the worst-case scenario, while at the same time, envisioning that it will be ok. That’s tough…it’s out of our hands…and often it’s the things that are out of our hands that are the hardest to accept - but it’s the healthiest way.
So this hurricane will be the same. We are preparing, and not panicking. We are enjoying the incredibly beautiful calm before the storm. These times create some of the most peaceful settings for an amazing walk on the beach.
It's a time when people in the community come together -- at grocery stores, at Lowes, on the beach with other workers putting up shutters.... everyone has a kinship - talking about what we are facing...will we be ok - are you staying? I'm always amazed at those who live on the island that stay. I respect their decision even if I don’t necessarily agree with it. People want to be in control -- of their home, of their things, of their destiny. My opinion again is that we can’t control nature – it has it’s own mind, so I always play it safe. We put it in God's hands to determine what will be waiting for us when we return, but we’re not going to risk the bodies of our children or pets.
It is a gamble -- what do you do -- protect your "stuff", or leave it all and pray for the best. Everyone talks about this during these times... You hear "it's just stuff". I agree, but it's stuff with memories attached. I haven't ever bought anything for my home that didn't represent something special – a memory to my family. Tom and I have purchased everything together - every painting has a meaning, every antique purchased - a story – an adventure. I'm not alone -- we all attach our hearts to our possessions. So, although yes, it is just stuff, my heart will be broken if it is taken during this storm. This "stuff" is irreplaceable in my heart --but new memories will be attached to new "stuff" that I may have to purchase. So be it. It is just stuff....
So as I sit out and look at the star filled skies glittering in a way they haven't all summer – with the stars seeming to literally touch the water, I try to imagine what the next few days will hold. I watch in wonder as my pets behave in a frenetic way they never have. My dogs are beyond consoling, and my cat will not leave my side. They say pets can sense these things; I believe it completely. This hurricane could be the worst my husband or I have ever faced. It could destroy our beloved home. – or it could just blow over us with lots of wind and rain. So we prepare, pray to God to be kind, and wait. It's the waiting...not knowing what will be waiting for you when you return that is so difficult. So I pray --- Irene be kind, to us, then to the rest of the eastern seaboard - then I open a great bottle of Cab!
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