Katrina...5 years

So, since it was exactly 5 years ago when Katrina came I thought I would share my story.  5 years ago Dylan and I took a 4 day weekend to Huntsville, AL to see his sister Gina and her husband Wade.  We had never been and we were so excited to hang out.  We spent the first two days hanging out and having fun.  Sunday morning we were woken up early by Dylan's dad calling his phone.  He told us we needed to come back to Jackson because the hurricane they were predicting was going to be a Category 5.  We had planned to get up, go to church and have a relaxing day in Huntsville but that all changed.  In less than 30 min we were in the truck heading south towards Jackson.  We had been through many hurricanes in Jackson so we were concerned but not really worried.  Mostly we knew we needed to get back to pick up our dog, Roscoe so he would free up a space for a dog that was fleeing from the storm.  I remember stopping at a gas station a few hours from home and seeing all the cars full of stuff with people from the coast.  We were going to opposite direction they were and I remember the eerie feeling being the only person driving on the south bound side.  I had already received a call from a good friend asking if she could stay with us but having to turn her down because we lived in a trailer and I knew we couldn't stay there either.
Sunday afternoon we were back, hanging out and watching the weather channel.  We went to bed Sunday night waiting for it to roll in.  Monday morning it was really dark out and you could tell the storm was coming.  We watched the TV a little longer hearing them saying over and over that people in mobile homes need to find somewhere else to stay.  On that note we decided to go to my sister's apartment.
Here is what we brought:
Dylan - playstation, computer hard drive and Roscoe on a leash
Amy - 3 t-shirts, 2 pairs of shorts and our wedding album

Of course we all know how Katrina turned out and the stupidity of what we thought we should bring has stuck with me.  Jackson was nothing like the coast but it felt like a post war environment.  Almost everyone didn't have power.  Trees were down everywhere and the shock of what happened to the coast made everyone somber. Going back to work felt wrong and thank goodness my employer was more than sympathetic.  I worked for the department store Belk.  I'll never forget the weird feeling of there being no gas at the gas stations.  When gas was available we were allowed to leave work immediately to wait in line and see if we could get some.

The whole experience will always be with me and I think about it a lot.  We were so blessed not to have lost our lives or everything we owned.