There needs to be a t-shirt or a stamp that I can show to everyone that says,"It's all Ike's fault!"
This year will never feel normal thanks to the interruption of Hurricane Ike about a month ago! Houston was hit pretty hard, and many of my students, family, and friends were without power for over 10 days. (Luckily where I am in Katy was well protected and we had power throughout. I had power guilt and found myself offering help to anyone I could get in touch with.) It was quite an adjustment, to say the least! We were out of school for 7 days, and when the kids came back it was like starting the school year over again. Their lives were different, and it affected them in many ways. During that first week back I turned out the lights to get their attention, and I quickly turned them back on as I noticed the panic in their eyes. They didn't always have the words for it, but they were deeply affected. My class is still working on telling their story to get their emotions and experiences on paper. Many of them saw destruction in their neighborhoods, but so many more helped family and friends clean up fallen trees, leaves, and branches. It made them appreciate things, become aware of the worries in the world around them, like the fear of something like that happening again, and needing to be prepared. So in many ways I am thankful for Ike in showing us that we can live without the conveniences of the 21st century and simply enjoy one another's company, but even so, it's still all Ike's fault!
