“I never imagined we would have ended up here, but then again isn’t that how life goes. The truth is we hear about tragic events happening every day, yet we never imagine something terrible happening to ourselves or our family. As we watched our beloved home go up in flames we stood in disbelief. Thoughts of ‘it’s not that bad’ ran through
my head; my brain and heart not believing what my eyes were seeing. I knew from the minute we left our home, stepping into the crisp November air, we were lucky.
5:00 a.m. – As a parent, we all know that feeling. The sound of little feet coming down the hall. The thoughts of hope…’Will they go back to sleep…please go back to sleep.’ As I returned my two-year-old, Paige, back to her bed, there was a strange feeling in the air. A stillness. The air felt chilly and I wondered if maybe this was why she had woken up so early. While attempting to get Paige back to sleep, with little success, my four-year-old, Mackenzie, began to wake. ‘Great,’ I thought, ‘This is going to be a long day.’ Little did I know, five minutes later I would be scooping these tiny humans up in my arms and rushing out the front door. My only thoughts were we were all safe. We were all okay.
5:15 a.m. – As the house filled with smoke, starting with our daughter’s room, and spreading to the entire main floor, I went into full mom mode. It’s true what they say, the only thing that matters in the whole world is the people you love. I don’t remember thinking about anything other than getting my children to safety, followed by making
相信我的丈夫和父母都是安全的。根深蒂固的我n my mind will forever be the look on everyone’s faces. The look of confusion on my children’s faces as I put them in their car seats. The intensity in my father’s face as he ran to the side of the house, fire extinguisher in hand. My Mom, as she called for the dogs, with a look of worry on her face. And my husband, in full on fix-it mode, his eyes saying ‘everything will be okay.’ We were all safe. We were all okay.
上午5点——“这是怎么发生的呢?“是this actually happening?’ With the children safe in the car, I ran back to the front door of the house, calling for my husband. With him not in sight I began to feel panicked. Knowing we were all safe, my husband Derick had run into the house to grab his keys and wallet. Even now he admits at the time he didn’t think the fire was going to be as bad as it was. At the same time it looked like my dad maybe had the fire under control. Okay, I thought, it’s going to be okay. But just as quickly as the fire was out, it popped back up again. With the fire extinguisher empty, my dad dropped to the ground. There was nothing to be done but wait for the firefighters to arrive.
We stood in disbelief; can this really be happening to us? It’s in this moment of stillness we first witnessed the type of community we live in. The sound of a boat heading towards us. The calls up the embankment were from a nearby neighbor who saw the smoke from across the lake and wanted to make sure we were awake and okay. The simplekindness这项行为只是我们接下来几周经历的许多时刻中的第一个。当消防员到达时，他们开始行动。他们不懈地努力扑灭fire。
7:00 a.m. – The fire is finally out and somehow I feel as if I have lost an entire day in time. I find myself standing with a group of firefighters, apologizing for the mess of our home. Looking back now, I realize how in denial I truly was. I explained we were in the middle of a kitchen renovation, leaving the main floor of our home in chaos. Their eyes say it all – the renovation mess was replaced with an incomprehensible disaster.
Nothing could have prepared me for the aftermath of the fire. The images, the smell, the complete feeling of loss will stay with me forever. As the firemen started to bring personal items out of the house, I quickly realized there was not much left to salvage. When you think of a fire, you imagine the flames, but nothing could have prepared me for the smoke damage. Every item – the clothes in drawers, the seemingly untouched toy basket, the toothbrushes on the bathroom counter – were coated in a thick black smoke with a scent that can never be extinguished. Even to this day, I find it difficult to believe all of our personal possessions are gone. I never considered myself a materialistic person, however I have always considered myself to be sentimental, and it is in this sentimentality I found myself starting to crumble.
我的直接想法涉及不可替代的物品。我的大女儿在两年前为我做母亲节的那个小手印花锅，几天前我从仓库中拔出的“第一个圣诞节”装饰品，而我的结婚戒指则存放在珠宝盒中，以安全保存。正是在这一刻，当我伤心欲绝时，我目睹了最个人的时刻之一kindness。When the firefighters heard about my wedding rings, they immediately sprung into action. Using a ladder to climb through the upstairs bathroom window, they managed to retrieve my jewelry box from the bedroom. Somehow, my rings survived the fire.
When thefirewas finally out and we sat to catch our breath, it was time to come up with a plan. Our neighbors, so generously, offered for us to stay next door in their cottage. My husband and I decided I would go to my parent’s house for the week with the girls. My husband and I each set out with our own set of tasks. I needed to replace the
我们需要在最初的几周里为我们带来的东西。我丈夫扮演与保险公司合作的角色。在本周，许多人来到我们这边，使情况无法忍受。我们的邻居慷慨地愿意让我们留在他们的小屋中；我最好的朋友，整天都在购物
with me and made me laugh; my sister, who gave the girls the best week and made things feel normal for them; to the community who brought food and toys for the girls. And finally to my sweet baby niece, who was born the morning of the fire. Having her come into our lives on the same day of the fire felt like divine intervention. She came on one of our darkest days, shining a bright lasting light.
随着第一周的过去，“如果”的问题在我的脑海中持续不断地循环。如果Paige在做的时候没有醒来怎么办？如果我们没有及时出去怎么办？如果我跑出门时刚刚抓住了一个小纪念品，该怎么办？知道我们可能会失去更多的感觉，我的心感到疼痛
随着我们所有的终生财产都消失了。我们很幸运的事实，那些“事情”并不重要。我知道我们多么幸运。我知道我们很安全。但是，我仍然需要空间来悲伤失去的东西。我们所有的记忆都包裹在小屋上；圣诞树周围的圣诞节，女孩们躲在前厅的窗帘上，麦肯齐在客厅的地板上跳舞，佩奇迈出了她的第一个小台阶。很难不滚动浏览所有图片，紧紧抓住我们家的记忆。
随着我们的前进，我们继续感到悲伤，同时也寻找白银，总是知道最重要的是我们都安全。我们知道前进的唯一方法是专注于我们可以控制的内容。长大后，我有一位游泳教练，他会说：“控制你能做什么，应对其余的人”，这是我作为父母所录的人生课。我们无法控制大火及其从我们身上造成的一切，但是我们确实可以控制下一步的工作以及如何前进。让自己感受到那些悲伤的时刻，同时也寻找机会有积极的经历。我们决定利用这段时间进行一种新的冒险，我们从未想过要与两岁和四岁的孩子一起进行。我们已经制定了计划在春季和夏季旅行中生活。我们知道这并不总是那么容易，但是我们也知道，如果我们在艰难的时刻推动，那么令人难以置信的记忆的机会就在等待。”
这个故事提交给 beplay网络一直不畅 by Elyse Brady. You can follow her journey on herInstagram和blog。提交自己的故事 这里，请确保 订阅to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube为了我们最好的视频。
Read more stories like this:
‘我凌晨2点左右回到家。有些不对劲。在几分钟之内，我的地毯着火了。’：勇敢的女人讲述了她如何逃脱家庭虐待
Do you know someone who could benefit from reading this?SHAREthis story on Facebook with family and friends.
