Evacuation Warning vs Mandatory Evacuation

Friday was a hell of a day. I had a very long and very stressful day at work. Complete with picking up Sweet from school at 3 and going back to an off-site 10-5 meeting. He watched videos on his little dvd player and was an angel but still... It felt like a serious hit to my professionalism, ya know?

AND there was no place to pump.... so I was about dying and hoping nobody said the word b-a-b-y or they risked taking a full shot to the eye from chest level. My plan was to get the girls and stop at a park so the bigs could play and the littlest could nurse.... and then my cell phone rang.

"Honey, go home, sit tight, watch the horizon, and maybe pack a bag or two. I'll call you when I know more...."

WTF?

Big fire. A few miles from our house. Not a big deal, right? But add to the equation a whole forest of red, dead, beetle-kill trees and predictions of high winds and, well, huh.... what IS important in your home?

My 5 minute plan is the kids, the dog and my purse. My 6 minute plan is the kids, the dog, my purse, the cats & the external hard drive. But what do I pack when I have hours and hours to stew about it?

First. Call the in-law's and let them know what is going on.... they are out of town and will be back early the next morning. Then spend much time on the phone talking to... everyone. Lots of people called to ask if we needed help packing up or needed a place to stay. Thank you. I talked to several neighbors including two who needed a place for their horses. Bring 'em down... I have water buckets and all the gates are closed.... just put them in an empty space and make sure they have water.

I paused to daydream about the items I would like to burn up.... the pink countertops in the kitchen, the couch, Hot's swim trunks, the washer and dryer.....

Then pack up photo albums that aren't available digitally, baby books (who am I kidding... the books are blank... but there is a box accompanying each that is full), taxes, last year's worth of bills, camera, various little antiques, jewelry, all the guns (please note: I'm only required to salvage the hunting rifle if it is a serious emergency), all the keys to all the gun locks, safe deposit key, various other paperwork that seems important, 4 days worth of clothing for each of us, hunting pack and licenses for Hot, all gift cards (what? It made total sense at the time), spare car keys, toys (transformers, bakugan, several baby dolls & leapsters)..... at this point I realize whatever I pack up I have to unpack later.... so I stopped.

Then I debated leaving my bridesmaid dress for this weekend. Then I packed it. And all the kids' wedding attire.

Then I called Hot and told him I was sorry to report his swimming trunks burnt in the fire. His "but I've had them since high school" trunks. Teal green baggies with a navy blue pattern. Yes, a speedo would be worse... but not much. So sorry.... all gone... bye-bye.

And I got the small cat carrier down from the garage rafters. And ran the dishwasher and did some laundry. And remembered my dryer is broken and I can't hang laundry out in the smoke. And I put the sprinklers on in the yard. And I took some photos for insurance documentation. And my in-laws helped me shuttle the pickup to town.

And we went to a birthday party on Saturday afternoon. Because, really, it is just a normal day in the rest of the world. But I know I was rattled because I forgot the gift.

And off to my sister's house to make centerpieces and programs. I discovered the fire was her fault. She said, "I hoped for an act of God to bring you to my house for Saturday AND Sunday... I'm very sorry...." We were only planning to go up on Sunday but ended up going on Saturday afternoon because of the smoke and evacuation warning.

But Sunday night was fine and by Tuesday it was cooling off. It rained and snowed on Wednesday.... so much that Hot called me and told me to open the "end of season" celebratory bottle of wine.

And that is the end of my story.....