The Clean-Up begins now that Irma has said good-bye to SW Florida.
The remnants of Irma!
She was like that last Open-House guest that lingers long after the party is over.
She has eaten all the onion dip as well as the last of the Ruffles potato chips from the snack bowl, licking her fingers for the last little bit of salty taste.
She searches the room for something else to satisfy her thirst…. while you, the host, eye the clock thinking the minutes are ticking by like hours.
Please leave, you say to yourself silently.
Yes, You Irma…the uninvited guest.
We don’t want you here anymore.
Good-bye and good riddance.
And then finally, she leaves, lingering at the door, this drama Queen, hesitating much like she did when she made her slow and unpredictable, (but watched by many), entrance.
A survey of the room reveals just how this unwanted guest made herself at home.
The cup of lemonade on it’s side…the sticky drops of yellow liquid solidifying on the wooden table.
There are other evidences of Irma and her blustery, boisterous bull-in-a-china-closet demeanor.
The pillows she tossed casually to the floor so she could settle in and be comfortable on the sofa.
You know the kind of person I am talking about.
She is the loud one, talking above anyone or anything in the room, wanting you to notice her purple hat with red feathers as you listen to her monopolize the conversation with stories comparing herself to past storms.
The one who says “look at me!“….. “Let me show you how I can be in control, immobilizing anyone and everything in my way”!
Yep! That is the one.
Now that we have shown this unwanted guest to the door, I sigh….the clean up begins.
We are taking charge.
We are taking control.
And yes, it is and will be a huge, time consuming, arduous clean up for many.
Unfortunately, our home wasn’t the only home that Irma visited and made herself at home.
She had her own party at many, many, many homes, destroying their property with no respect for the lives of sweet, kind people or their homes.
She selfishly took it all.
She left many with nothing.
She accomplished what she wanted which was to make herself known.
She did that and now it is time to say ….Good-bye and Good Riddance!
And life begins again…..our mandevilla vine on our pergola took quite a hit. Tattered and beat up a bit; but I smiled as I saw this bud shooting up in defiance.
Pat hill says
You are strong, and nothing, not even some hag like ‘Irma’ will keep you down.
Yes, you will deal with the clean up, and you will go on. Like that one tiny shoot on your vine, you come back stronger.
And more determined.
Like Gloria Gaynor said, “I will survive”!
Kari says
Very well said my friend….Florida will come back. We are a resilient bunch.
We love living in Paradise, even though there are occasional hazards and consequences. The other 345 beautiful days of the year or more, are all worth it.
And taking the line from the movie “Steel Magnolias”…”that which does not kill us, makes us stronger!”
Hugs my friend.