10/6/24 UPDATE

We are at a point of mental and physical exhaustion.  I can’t remember the simplest things like where I set my water, or even certain words, they evade me.  It’s like we’re playing charades.  Today was spent prepping for Milton.  You may wonder why we need to prep since we just got through with Helene.  Well, we had cleaned a lot of things and put things back in their place.  Now things have to come inside or be moved inside a screened in porch, etc.  The frustrating and sad thing is we still have clean up to do from Helene so those things are just getting left and will have to wait until after Milton.  One of our daughter Chandler’s college friends, Brooke, is an insurance adjuster in Florida.  I texted her this morning looking for any advice.  She called me not too long after I sent her the text message.  She has been working every day since Helene in the Treasure Island area of Florida.  Brooke advised me to take lots of pictures.  Each room, different angles.  And lots of pictures of the outside.  She also told me that if something is not replaceable to take it with us when we evacuate.  That really got me thinking. Isn’t everything replaceable?  Well, no, not everything.  My wedding rings have significance, sure they can be replaced but wouldn’t it be nice just to have them with me?  And my grandmothers diamond cocktail ring, replaceable and we have insurance on it, but I’m taking it with me.  There are several original art pieces in our home, can those be replaced?  Not really.  We’ll have to decide what to take with us.  We are under a mandatory evacuation - we need to be out tomorrow, Monday, by 2 p.m.  Our plan is to leave by noon.  We were able to change our hotel reservation to have a room tomorrow night. We are closely watching the storm and what we’re hearing is where the storm hits and ten miles surrounding will be devastated.  And right now it’s headed right for us.  In the morning I’m going to focus on packing my favorite clothes. We can’t bring too many things but I’ll try to pack the things that bring me some joy when I wear them.