Picking up the pieces

Hurricane Sandy is now over, but the damage it has done cannot be repaired as quickly as it was destroyed. Thousands of flights have been grounded (JFK airport is finally back open) and millions of people, across 4 states, are still without power. In Georgia, most people aren't personally affected by it, as Sandy only gave us a cold front as it was moving through. However, I have family in New Jersey, my grandma, my uncle, my pregnant aunt, and their 8-year-old son. They all live in Parlin, a city inland enough that there won't be storm surges roaring through the neighborhood, but still close enough to the Raritan river that it will be affected.

As we found out through a phone call, they are all fine. None of them got hurt, but their car did get totaled due to a tree falling on it (which we found out through pictures they posted on Facebook before their laptop ran out of power). As the power is still out for their section of the state (some areas in New Jersey, like Jersey City, do have their power back), they are trying to find gas to power their generator. They are the lucky ones. Nothing flooded, nothing broke, and nothing was set on fire, which is more than can be said for many others.

Even though Hurricane Sandy is gone, the damage it has done will leave lasting scars, both physically, through the damage it has done, and mentally, through all the people who have lost loved ones. While Frankenstorm might be a thing of the past, we'll still be picking up the pieces it scattered for many months to come