The past few years tormented me professionally. I’ve gone to school, become licensed as a massage therapist, and continued my education. I also went back to college to study Psychology. I had a professional office for a couple of years but could not figure out how to make that work in the way I wanted. The big dream kept eluding me. The wait is finally over. I can look back now and see the beauty in all that has transpired that led to now. My thought that the time was not right was correct. I am pleased to announce that I will be opening a new office in the coming months. The final clearing of the path came from Hurricane Irma.
My dearest mother-in-law, Camille, transitioned a year and a half ago at the ripe age of 100. She kept wondering why she was still alive as she was sharp in mind to the end. It was the body that gave out. Since that time my husband has been in the process of letting go – letting go of her and her “stuff.” She was a collector of things. There are still some things there. Once those are gone, he will sell the house. I learned earlier in this life to let people have their process no matter how long it takes. Gratefully, that process is coming to an end. I give partial credit to Hurricane Irma for that. I knew in my heart that we would be okay in Sarasota, Florida. However, we live close to the bay, and I could not stop the urge to run. It was a great spiritual conflict within myself. Where was my faith? Why didn’t I trust my knowing? The answer came the night of the storm.
On Saturday morning of the 9th of September, I convinced my husband that we needed to leave our home as it is close to the water. The hurricane was coming up our side of the coast of Florida, and I feared that it would go out into the Gulf and create a large storm surge. I knew we needed to leave before any winds picked up because we were taking our new trailer with us. A self-contained home to live in – if it didn’t blow away that is. Passing up invitations to stay with friends in Sarasota, we drove to Orlando to Camille’s home where my husband’s son currently resides. We parked the trailer in the driveway between buildings. It would be safe there. Everything left in the house reminded us of Camille. I knew she was there with us for this experience. The next day, a neighbor joined us just as the storm the size of Florida took hold. There are not many furnishings left, so we slept in Camille’s old room on her mattress. A first for anyone other than Camille.
Storm preparations complete, we didn’t have much to do but wait it out. Just as the winds picked up, I heard the metal mailbox slap once and only once. I knew that was my husband’s father coming to visit. He worked as a postman and transitioned in the mid-90s. He was telling us everything would be okay. Regardless, the night was hellish for me. The sound of the wind was incredible. We heard transformers explode and experienced flickering lights that kept going out and coming back on. Finally, at about 1:30 AM, they went off and stayed off. By late the next morning, the winds were dying down, and we had survived without incident. As it turns out, the storm was harsher in Orlando than Sarasota. Some large branches fell in the yard, and quite a few trees and power lines fell during the night in the neighborhood. The next day, we were much relieved to receive photos of our Sarasota yard from another neighbor. All our large trees were still standing. However, the most remarkable and tangible thing happened as the storm was ending. The mailbox slapped one more time, and only once. They were gone. Both of my husband’s parents retreated from the property together.
The storm is over; the storm debris pickup is occurring as I wrote this post. My neighbor has a tree to get down that is threatening to take out a fence and possibly land on our house, but there is always something. That is life. I can still trust my instinct. Even though I knew I would be okay here, I was meant to be in Orlando for the storm. I don’t have to question my faith or knowing anymore. Energetically, I feel cleansed and clear. I am ready for this next phase of life unencumbered by the “wait.” The time is now.
Just a little cleanup. We are truly blessed this was all that was needed.