Sorry not to have touched base again before now. More chaos exist in my world than I've ever experienced. Attempting to touch base with another update...two and a half weeks ago Barbara's and my house blew up in what appears to be a natural gas explosion. We were at essentially the center of it all...all firemen and first responders remain mystified how we survived and, possibly more to the point, how we remained as undamaged as we were. I'm mystified as well. I still cannot comprehend how we lived through such a blast that woke people at least four or five miles away. I just don't get it. I'm not arguing...and I'm glad to be here still...even more so without having sustained major physical damage from the blast.
In the aftermath, our respective worlds appeared to have come undone. Our home was uninhabitable. It appears we have MANY wonderful friends who have offered us places to land and help in any manner they might be able. Such a situation is confusing from the inside (and perhaps from the outside as well). So much has been lost and so much is needed...AND more often than not, any perception of what might be needed seems elusive...even to this day over two weeks following the explosion.In any case, we've landed at the home of friends a few houses away...largely due to the cats who also survived the blast. We were particularly concerned about the two cats (even more so the one who is particularly sensitive) and finality have both cats pretty well settled into this new environment. Both are happy and comfortable.
The insurance company has been wonderful, which is something I never thought I might be saying. They have made the overall process appear both comprehensible and much less stressful than I might ever have imagined. We've already had three sets of specialized movers come to pick up and assess damages to whatever they found...whether electronics, appliances, clothing, furniture, etc. Then arrived the regular movers who dealt with what remained. As of the end of this past week, most everything has been picked up and moved to a safe location with a controlled environment where it will stay for a number of months.
The insurance people also arranged for rental vehicles for both of us. We immediately set to work attempting to locate vehicles to replace ours which were totaled by the explosion. I believe we managed to do so about as well as we might possibly expect...after which we returned the rental cars and now will be able to get used to out new rides.
In the meantime, my many small cuts from the glass across my body and larger ones on the bottoms of my feet have mostly healed. One of the foot wounds persists, but I think it's on the run. Then to top things off, a neighbor attempting to do a good deed by scooping the snow from the driveway ran his bobcat front loader over my front big toe and broke it. Not what I needed...but it's sort of a comical addition to all of the other chaos.
We're still waiting for the arrival of a final determination regarding the cause of the recent event. We need that information before making any definite decisions regarding rebuilding. Knowing for certain we'll need to establish a transitional location for us to live while dealing with the building etc., we were able to secure a modest loft space in downtown Cincinnati...again with a great deal of help from our insurance company. We cannot thank our insurance people enough! They've made so much of this process as easy as I could possibly imagine. In any case, it looks as though we'll be moving to the new location at the end of March.
There's certainly more to tell. But I have to get many other things under control today. I'll attempt to post another update soon...particularly as the seemingly endless things to do list slows down.
No comments:
Post a Comment