Another week has come and gone since Hurricane Harvey destroyed my home and set my life off course. To say that the storm is a distant memory would be too rooted in a sense of false truth. Feelings of shock and confusion seem to take over my mind whenever someone reminds me it’s almost the end of October. Even though it has been seven weeks since the storm impacted my community, there’s a feeling I’m actually only a few days removed from it.
I’ve begun to have moments of realization where floods of memories fill my mind. It’s as if a movie reel is running in my head as I relive watching water breach walls, driving through torrential floodwaters, even returning to see the devastating aftermath of the rains. I have a sense these thoughts will persist at least until my home has been fully repaired, and I can begin living there again.
The conversations with people who were also affected by the storm have begun to take on a more positive tone. Many of these people finally have a tangible sense of progress through the beginning of permanent repairs. They are thrilled to have drywall that isn’t covered in mold, and are able to see that their respective homes are in the process of becoming livable again. Soon my family will hopefully be able to join them, as we will be having our new drywall installed sometime next week.
Luckily I was able to make it out to my home again this past week. The structure has been completely gutted, and bears no resemblance to the way it was before. My bathroom is now almost entirely empty as only the bathtub and toilet remain. Walking through the place almost feels like a foreign experience. No walls, no furniture, not even the cabinets remain now. I only hope I’m soon able to experience the sliver of joy that seems to come from having walls return to your home.
On a slightly negative note, I was still feeling quite sick this past week. I’ve yet to actually figure out what has been afflicting me, but I’m less than amused it’s still with me. At least the more major symptoms have lessened into a lingering cough, which is more of an annoyance than anything else. However, I fear this illness will remain with me just like the impact of the hurricane. I hope that a recovery in my health coincides with the further recovery of my home. Beyond the concerns about my home and my illness, I have further expanded my ever-growing list of projects to work on. Most people seem to look at me as if I’ve gone crazy when I inform them that I have added yet another project to the seemingly endless scroll of current endeavors. What they don’t seem to understand is that this endless cycle of work is one of the few things keeping my sanity in check.
Dispatch from Lamar will be a weekly feature in The Hawk.