Sandy

Today is the seventh school day that my district has been out due to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  I think everyone knew that this "superstorm" had the potential to bring heavy damage to our state and the eastern seaboard in general, but it's really overwhelming to see exactly what the storm brought.  In these difficult times, I think about my students and how they're coping.  My kindergarteners and first graders are young and probably don't fully understand what happened, but children can pick up on stress in the home and can understand from the tone of voice of the adults around them that something is wrong.  A lot of the district where I teach is still out of power.  The lasting damages of Sandy in my area were caused by all of the trees that fell.  I took a walk around my town on Wednesday (the storm made landfall on Monday night) and there were 100something year old trees that just uprooted.  There wasn't as much rain with this storm as there was with Hurricane Irene but the intense winds were what damaged these old, amazing trees. A large portion of my district is still without power.  It's a very sad situation because it's getting to be pretty cold at night - last night went down below 30 - and without heat it's obviously not easy to be comfortable.  

My finance's parents have a house down the shore on one of the barrier islands.  The ocean and the bay met on every barrier island (meaning the whole island had water on the ground at a point during the storm).  Check out these before and after interactive photos.  The one of Mantoloking is really breathtaking. Look closely and you'll see that there is a new inlet between the bay and the Atlantic there that wasn't there before.  I've driven down those roads that no longer exist hundreds of times. We haven't been able to get down to the beach house to look at any possible damages because there is sand all over the roads, sinkholes in the towns, no power on the island, and houses in the middle of the roads.  The town is slowly letting citizens back to the island, starting by bussing in 90 full-time residents and eventually letting everyone back to check their homes, recover what they can, and winterize the homes since there is no heat.  I am cautiously looking forward to when we are allowed to go back to the house because it means that we can start to recover.  We are so happy that the house is still there because it could have been so much worse.  In the next town over, Ortley Beach, is being called the "ground zero" for damage in this area.  All of these interactive photos are from the island where the house is. 

Despite the difficulties that the shore is facing, we all must be thankful for certain things.  NJ is a strong and resilient state.  The cleanup and rebuilding have begun already and people have been donating their time and energy to help others.  One of the most inspiring things that happened after the storm was a small gesture by a church down the shore.  My cousin Amanda got married the Saturday after the storm hit.  Her house, the church, and the reception hall were all without power.  I was the cantor for the mass and used everything I ever learned about breath support to make sure people could hear me! But more importantly, the ceremony was beautiful.  It was a little chilly...but absolutely beautiful.  The reception had to be postponed to next year and we were expecting to go to the church hall for cake (not the real wedding cake but a sheet cake), but when we all walked in, there were appetizers, drinks, hot food, a dessert table, and a someone with battery-powered iPod speakers.  It was a complete surprise to everyone.  It made the day even more special.  Those small gestures are something that will get everyone through the tough times.  

I look forward to seeing my students again and pray that they will recover from this disaster.