Hurricane Sandy Part Three: Family Evacuated

                    Hurricane Sandy Part Three: Family Evacuated                                      

                          Courtney: Family Evacuated    

     When I heard that we were being evacuated due to Hurricane Sandy all I could think was "oh no not again!" I live in Long Beach and we were evacuated due to Hurricane Irene not so long ago. Thankfully we didn't sustain any damage as a result of Irene, so we were reluctant to leave the comforts of our home again for this storm. We couldn't help but think that the media was once again overreacting and we tried to justify remaining home during the storm. Luckily, due to the insistence of many good friends and family, my husband and I evacuated with our one year old daughter. We all stayed with my mother, aunt, uncle, cousins and many pets at my aunt and uncle's house in Lynbrook. 
     Packing for yourself when you don't know how long you're going to have access to a washing machine and a supermarket is one thing but packing for a baby in this sort of situation is another matter altogether. I packed as much as I could with as much practicality as possible and realized that if we ran out we would just have to make do with whatever we could get our hands on. For someone like me who always chooses to feed her child organic food, changes diapers every half hour and won't use any products that contain chemicals, this situation was going to be a challenge.

     We made it through the storm with thankfully no damage to my aunt and uncle's house in Lynbrook. We did lose power for over a week but we never lost hot water and I was able to keep my daughter's milk cold with ice packs and insulated bags until we could get to a supermarket. We all worked together as a family helping each other and cooking together and sharing anything that we could. It was really nice to be together although the situation wasn't ideal in that the reason we were together was due to such a devastating event. However, we did the best we could and we were so thankful that we had a place to stay when so many people had nowhere to go. Friends and family were so generous during this time, offering meals, showers and any sort of help that they could offer. The goodness in people really shined through this awful time. 

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