Leave it to me to fly to Florida when a hurricane is coming…

My mom and I planned and booked this trip in August. We went back and forth over dates and what would work best as we both have insanely busy schedules and some days/weeks are easier than others. 

And of course, as it was coming up, first Hurricane Helene hit, which, thankfully, didn’t do any damage to my mom’s house. But then Hurricane Milton was following closely on its footsteps. 

As we discussed options and looked at other dates, we decided to keep our plans and head south for our visit. I *desperately* needed this time away. 

We, of course, kept our eyes on the storm, tracking it and seeing where it was headed. Along with literally everyone else. 

The first part of the week was beautiful. We spent time visiting and swimming and having NO PLANS. The no plans part was my favorite part of the week! 

And even with the storm coming, Tuesday was beautiful and we spent the majority of the day swimming, with a little hiatus to go to the store. Everything was closed early though, which my mom said was super weird and almost eerie. Especially because it was still clear out, no rain or anything. 

When we woke up Wednesday, the rain had started. Nick had been messaging me about what we were planning to do, and we went back and forth about driving to my aunt’s in Charleston, but ultimately, after seeing where the path of the storm was going and having a whole house generator set up and ready to go, we decided to stay. 

The rain was on and off all day Wednesday. And the winds would pick up, then calm down as the day went on. But as the day went on, the rain got more steady and heavier and the winds picked up. Our power flickered on and off a few times, but never stayed off, thankfully. It would surprise us and pop off, then almost immediately come back on. 

It was eerie going to bed Wednesday night, because we had no idea if the power would stay on, if it was going to get worse, or what would happen. And it didn’t help that we could hear the wind and rain hitting the windows, and Gabriel kept asking if the storm was going to come inside. 

I think my biggest fear was something happening while we were sleeping and not being prepared to take care of him. But praise the Lord, nothing happened. We had a pretty steady downpour of rain all day and the winds got pretty nasty at times, but the house withstood all of it, and there wasn’t much yard debris down when we checked it the next morning. 

And wouldn’t you know… the next day was GORGEOUS. We spent a lot of the morning in the pool and swimming, knowing we were headed home the next day. 

I’m thankful I got a week away from work and the every day responsibilities I normally have. I’m thankful I got to spend the week with my mom and have her spend time with Gabriel. And truthfully, I’m thankful we had the downtime of the storm to really just chill out at home and do nothing. I rarely, if ever, get that at home. 

Would I choose to fly down for a visit in a hurricane? Heck no. But we had no idea that would happen when we booked our flight in August. 

I’m thankful God was watching over us. And I pray for everyone else who wasn’t quite so lucky. The tornadoes caused a lot of damage to a lot of people, and I’m so thankful none came into my mom’s neighborhood.

As we head into a new week, my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Florida, Tennessee, and North Carolina as recovery begins. And we will do whatever we can do from Virginia. 

Have a great week, my friends. 

With love,

Whitney