Back to Irma

A big pile of Irma

When we got back to Miami, we were surprised at how much debris was still by the sides of the road.  Actually we've been home 2 weeks and there are still huge piles of debris - especially in Palmetto Bay.  Every time we go out we meet a truck hauling a load of broken branches.

Otherwise, things seem to have gotten back to normal.  I'm even making progress at putting things back in their normal locations.  This hurricane experience gave me two take away lessons:

1.  The thought that your home and possessions will be destroyed makes it very easy to see what material possessions are important and which ones are just clutter.  I read a Japanese decluttering book (The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo) a few months ago and she suggested that if you want to declutter, hold an object and ask yourself if it gives you joy.  Somehow that didn't work for me, but imagining storm surge washing things out to sea worked really well!

2.  Sometimes no one knows what's the right thing to do.  In rehashing Irma with friends and neighbors I've found that everyone had the same conversations Rob and I had - stay or go? go where?  go when?  In the end I think we made a good choice, but friends who left and stayed away for several days after the storm seemed happy with their choices too.  Thankfully, I don't know anyone whose home was seriously damaged.

So technically it's still hurricane season, but it is waning and we are expecting a cold front!  The dry season is just around the corner!