One year ago today, we were watching the Gulf and waiting for a storm.

We had prepared. We had bought the supplies. We had an evacuation plan.

On Friday, August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall.

The city of Rockport, Texas was devastated.

In Houston, we waited. We watched.

I wrote about this last year (Hurricane Harvey: My Story), but I wanted to share again.

This is what happened to our city:

Today is hard.

I didn’t think I would feel like this.

My heart hurts. Both it and my brain remember (and are reliving) the absolute stress and terror I hid inside for a week. I could not panic. I wanted to SO badly. There was a 5-year-old and two dogs who feed off of my energy. I HAD to help them stay calm. MyHusband is not inclined to do well in situations with little option (he comes by it naturally/genetically). I had to be strong for all of them. It nearly broke me, to be honest.

OUR family remained safe. The water was literally at our door threshold, but we remained dry. We had power the entire time – having A/C, cable, and the internet made the whole situation bearable for MyChild – but, OUR house stayed dry. Friday Fives: Memories from Harvey

So many others were not as lucky. I spoke about my survivors guilt last year – Survivor’s Guilt It’s still here. There are SO many people who are STILL not in their homes or their homes are not completely repaired.

One thing I am SO proud of my city is that:

When we realize we couldn’t get out – I-45, I-10, Hwy 59 were ALL underwater and BOTH IAH and HOU airports were closed – an unspoken decision settled over the city –

We were ALL getting out. 

I don’t know if this is coming up in other parts of the country, but (of course) there are specials and segments all over the media remembering the storm and the compassion shown in the aftermath.

And now… Hawaii.

Almost one year to the day, a major storm is baring down on one of our own.

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I can’t help but be sad in this moment, try to remember the good, and hope for the best for us all.