Friday, August 27th, 2021, as the anniversary of Katrina approached, I was getting ready to pack and leave on a trip to NYC to visit my mom, who is in her 90s now. I felt mixed about my roadtrip. For some reason, I had decided to drive instead of fly. People asked me why.
I had no really great reason, except that I felt anxious about flying. I packed my camper, with a plan to drive to my first stop, Chattanooga, and visit friends for a few days. As I stood in my kitchen, taking a moment to experience the moment and see if I was forgetting anything, I felt the welcoming energy. I thought back to Katrina, how afterwards, I just wanted my mundane life back, taking care of my new baby, coffee with friends, walking around the neighborhood, doing my work. I missed the pleasures and cares of that former life. I had heard there was a tropical depression that was turning into a Cat that morning. Nobody had really talked about leaving, except one friend who liked visiting her son in Chattanooga. I was happy I’d be seeing a familiar local face there, along with newer friends.
Before I left, I asked my daughter again if she wanted to come with me. She could drive back with my friend on Monday and maybe miss one day of school. She said no. I left, towing my airstream behind me.
As I hit the road, I thought, I could have brought the dog. But it was already 10 minutes into the trip and I hated turning back.
About an hour or two into my 8 hour drive, I started getting text alerts. A bidding war of categories–Now Ida was a Cat 3. Do I hear 4? It was gaining strength; A massive, slow moving hurricane getting larger and more powerful as it approached the coast.
People were talking about whether to stay or not. When I reached Chattanooga around 8 p.m., quite late and tired, I joined some friends for dinner and called home. My ex-husband and daughter were still thinking they would stay. The conversations were getting tense and frenzied. Her dad and I had been through a lot of hurricanes and knew how everything changed moment to moment, and were familiar with the feelings and factors that went into deciding what to do. But for my teenager, it was a new sensation and decision-making process to untangle. (to be continued).
