Starting From The Ground Up

With not having fire insurance or home owner's to cover the damage the fire had caused, we were between a rock and a hard place.

I went back to work the Monday after and word had spread like wild fire.  I was self conscious about the burns and kept them hidden with layers of clothing and long sleeve jackets.  Of course people still wanted to see so they didn't stay unseen for long.  My father's burns healed to where you couldn't even tell that he was burned.  The burn on my back left a scar.  It's just a reminder for me that I'm a survivor.

Family, friends, coworkers and even outside sources had given donations of food, clothing, money, etc.  By the time the clothes were sorted, we all had more clothes than we did before the fire.  I hadn't realized how much my father and I had touched people's lives to where they wanted to help us out.  It was amazing and I still can't believe it. 

My father finally received a call from the building inspector to meet him at the burned house.  He told my dad that the whole roof including the support beams had to go along with the wall where the fire had started.  The other thing the inspector mentioned was that if the appraised value of the house was less than the cost to repair it, we would have to raise our home, costing an extra 100 plus grand.  My poor dad works so hard and tries to give us all he can.  He just never could catch a break.  He is a fighter though and I know I get my will to never give up from him.

After Hurricane Katrina, my aunt and her husband had moved in with our grandfather to take care of him.  Once he passed away, they made it their home.  One forgotten tid bit of information though was that her husband had the rights to his mom's house.  She had jut passed away within the last 2 years.  They graciously moved into her house to let us have more room to ourselves. Ever since, it has truly felt like home.  I don't feel like I'm in a weird place or out of my comfort area.  It was like it was meant to be.  All of that may sound crazy, but, the house catching fire was an act of God's doing.  He was tired of seeing us struggle all this time and decided it was time for us to be able to start completely over, from the ground up.