It was a different kind of road trip. Somehow I knew not to ask, “Are we there yet?” I don’t think any of us knew where we would eventually end up that evening. My parents were doing their best to act like this was some type of family vacation. But mom was quiet (she never is), and the car was packed with odd items one would never take on a vacation. Most of what had been packed in the car were diapers and baby formula. My little sister had just been born weeks before this obscure “vacation.” The circumstance that prompted this trip was the mandatory evacuation that preceded Hurricane Andrew.
However, this new source of life into our family was “amazing grace.” She kept us on a routine. Feedings, changing diapers, and just watching her sleep like our guardian angel. We were blessed with something so new and beautiful in the midst of so much destruction. I learned that when so much is lost, after the initial shock, there is a time of “freeness” of contemplation that one can start all over again. An opportunity arises to recreate. This lesson has stayed with me and is brought to the surface of my mind at critical times.
With death comes rebirth, and with destruction comes new creations. Again, I will find myself on this same road that once led me to safety and now armed with added insight and appreciation for opportunities, I set my path on this road towards growth and education.
