A Healthy & Organized Storm

So we are actually in the middle of packing up certain precious belongings and securing other areas of our home right now as we prepare to evacuate for fear of the ever-growing Rita. And right now I am sure that I should be all business but I think that part of me is in a bit of shock because let's face it I have never in my life had to evacuate my own home. I mean up in Canada you get a snowstorm and it is kind of fun, you get to stay in your house, all cozy and cuddled up with a good book and hot chocolate, everyone gleefully getting chubby and warming themselves by the fireplace and finally catching up on that novel has been sitting on the night stand for months. Snow is snow, it might pile up, you can't leave the house, it is cold and bitter outside but there you are with all of your things feeling safe in your home. So right now I am sitting here with the knowledge that actually my house will probably not be safe in a couple of days. They have told people all along the coastal areas to evacuate and get to higher ground, everywhere from Port Arthur to Corpus Christi. Well that's us too, we are right next to Port Arthur. Of course we can hope for the best, leave thinking that it won't hit us that hard but I guess I don't know what to think. I am packing up documents, computers (this one that I am one right now will be dismantled shortly), china that I just received for my wedding from my parents, books, photography equipment and all the while not knowing what to feel. We have just gotten our house to to exact level of cozy that I love. People come in and that is the first thing they usually say, "oh how cozy" and now the thought of leaving it all behind with the possibility that it might be ruined when we come back is very hard for me.

Of course, what is slightly humorous about good ole' Rita is how the weather channel people talk about her. In case any of you did know, Rita is a very healthy storm, with a well-developed eye and is extremely organized. I would like to have a word or two with the overly enthusiastic meteoroligists who are reporting this with such awe and even a twinge of excitement in their voices. I must say that I would be more than content with a sick and disorganized hurricane at this point. I am having visions of the storm doing crunches and push-up and pulling out her BlackBerry to schedule her next appointment. Of course, it is all funny, until you realize that her next appointment is with us!

So anyways, I am nervous and trying to keep my mother calm, who has called me at least five times today and in tears at least once. Luckily for us we have a place to go when we leave, we are headed to Austin where Chris' parents have a vacation house. But still nobody wants to leave behind their home like this, wondering what will happen. The truth is if nothing happens but some strong wind and rain, it is really the whole experience of feeling that you have to leave your home that is hard. I hope with all my might that we are not devastated in the same way as Katrina victims were. I know our flooding will not be of New Orleans proportions but even still living a displaced life would be a lot for me to handle now, especially since in some way I already feel displaced having only just started my life here in Texas with Chris. I hope that after this weekend we will be able to go back to living and creating our life together with only minimal losses, if any. And I hope that Rita drops her BlackBerry between now and Saturday and that she takes up smoking or some very unhealthy habit immediately.