Birds of a Feather

Until yesterday, we were trapped inside our neighborhood because water was blocking every major exit out. On Tuesday, Sean ventured out for the first time to assess potential routes because the streets in our immediate vicinity had finally drained overnight. I asked him if he would consider stopping for milk while he was out if he was able to safely navigate the roadways to a nearby grocery store.

During his drive around, he was able to cut through a neighboring subdivision and meander his way to H-E-B. Before I continue with this post, I want to preface with an affirmation of love and respect for my husband. The intention of this piece is purely comical, and I don’t want it to seem like I’m ungrateful in any way. With that aside, I will continue…

Sean came home about an hour later with an assortment of H-E-B bags. As I started helping him unload and put the grocery items away, my eyes widened as I took inventory of his grocery run: ice cream, popsicles, cake pops, chocolate covered pretzels, kolaches, jalapeno and salt & pepper pretzels, cashews, canned chili, Canadian bacon, turkey, and bountiful amount of wine. As I surveyed the groceries, I realized a critical ingredient was missing- the milk!

I casually asked him about the milk situation as I continued to put groceries away. Unfortunately because of the storm, H-E-B was still out of milk. All we really needed at that point was milk and yet now we had an arsenal of mostly junk food that I would have to painstakingly exercise self-control to avoid. While I more than appreciated the sentiment, few of his options were healthy or conducive for dinner preparation.

There’s a reason grocery shopping falls under my umbrella of to do’s in our family dynamic no different than why changing the AC filters falls under his. We each have strengths we bring to our relationship. These strengths allow us to bring the best parts of ourselves out for the benefit of everyone else in the household.

I did manage to integrate the Canadian bacon into a gluten free pizza option that was quite a hit for dinner tonight. Otherwise most of the food has been enjoyed by Liam and Sean. I do, however, have to own that I single handedly polished off the white fudge pretzels in a matter of two days, and they were quite delightful.

Circling back to the milk and wine, the milk dilemma was resolved thanks to my friend, Deanna. Yesterday when we we dropped off our donations for St. Max, she kindly offered up an extra gallon of milk she had on hand. When your five year old’s favorite drink of choice is milk, nothing is sweeter music to your ears than having the supply to meet his demand. So thank you again, Deanna, for saving the day on that one. I do have to hand it Sean for restocking our wine collection. This week I broke my usual only drinking on the weekend rule to indulge in a glass of wine almost every as we waited for Harvey to move on.

I love how my husband took it upon himself to go out of his way to restock our pantry and refrigerator. Did it align with the kitchen staples I typically keep on hand? Absolutely not! Nonetheless I appreciate the effort and find humor in the amount of processed food a man can buy on one trip to the grocery store. I will naturally be more mindful of using the phrase, “while you’re out, would you mind…” because it’s anyone’s guess what else he’ll come home with next time!

This morning I awoke with an incredibly grateful heart. My family is safe, the water in the street drained overnight, and we have one another. Many of my family, friends, and colleagues are not faring as well as Harvey continues to cause destruction, damage, and heartbreak for so many in Houston.

While the name Harvey as of late is synonymous with so much negativity, there is one silver lining attached to this horrific storm. This ray of sunshine in so much darkness is the opportunity for quality time. So often in life, we are forced to march to the tick-tock timelines of the clock. Our alarm goes off signaling the start of our work day and like the gun of a race, we’re off.

Hurricane Harvey opened the door to uninterrupted quality time. Since Saturday with the exception of venturing out around the neighborhood to assess the conditions, the four of us have been under the same roof for over 72 hours. Time has not revolved around a clock but rather centers around our time together as a family. Unstructured play, jumping on the bed, cuddling up to watch a movie, chasing after your big brother’s remote control car, reading books, sitting down as a family for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and making memories every step of the way.

Soon enough, the hustle and bustle of life will return as the roads clear, schools reopen, and we are inundated in our day-to-day routines. In the meantime, I will hug my children and husband a little harder grateful for their safety and the opportunity to savor all of these little moments together.

As Hurricane Harvey continues to dump massive amounts of rain on the Houston area, I wanted to update our family and friends of our status. We are safe, blessed to have power, and doing well. We narrowly escaped a tornado on Saturday afternoon and awoke to flooded streets this morning. So many Houstonians, however, are being forced to evacuate their homes because of rising flood waters or are enduring these terrible conditions without power or food.

Liam was scheduled to start kindergarten today but Cy-Fair ISD and most school districts in the area, including mine, have cancelled school through the Labor Day holiday. Last night as I tucked him in, he expressed great disappointment about not being able to start school. This morning instead of walking him down the hallway to his new classroom, Liam and I ventured out in our rain boots to assess the water conditions. The streets in our neighborhood are flooded but larger vehicles can pass through with caution. Sean and I recognize, though, that getting out of the neighborhood would be incredibly difficult with all of the rainfall we’ve had in the last 48 hours.

Like so many other residents in the area, we will ride it out; hopeful the rain subsides soon. The evolution of this waiting game wavers back and forth between patience and stir crazy. Being rained in, however, does come with plentiful opportunities for family bonding through play and conversation.

I continue to pray for those who are most in need. The men, women, and children whose entire world has been turned upside down by Harvey. In the coming days, this storm will continue to test our limits. Please keep everyone affected in your thoughts.

Growing up in a coastal community in South Texas, I am no stranger to hurricanes. Oftentimes, my dad boarded up the windows around the house, and we hunkered down to ride the storm out. There was always a steady supply of bread, peanut butter, and pretzels along with a wide array of board games and library books.

Sometimes the forecasted hurricane conditions looked too bleak, and my mother, brother, and I would head north destined for San Antonio to ride out the storm there. My dad always stayed behind with my uncle and grandfather to make sure the shrimp boats made it in safely and were secured for the storm.

My mom fondly reminds my brother and I, from time to time, about how we were convinced we could safely ride out an approaching hurricane in a giant cardboard box my father had in the garage. Obviously we were too young to know any better back then!

More recent hurricanes that stand out the most vividly in my mind include Katrina, Dolly, and Ike. Katrina devastated New Orleans in August of 2005. It was the summer after college graduation, and I was in Las Vegas at an apparel trade show. I remember watching the footage from the hotel lobby. My heart breaking as the conditions intensified for the residents of Nola.

Hurricane Dolly ravaged the Rio Grande Valley in July of 2008. This storm brought torrential rain, wind, and power outages that lasted over a week. I braved the storm at my apartment in Harlingen with my roommate, Beatriz. I never realized how much I took coffee, a hot shower, and air conditioning for granted. Hurricane Dolly and my mother both shared the same namesake; tocayas in Spanish. Her name was the brunt of many jokes among our family and friends as she wreaked havoc on South Texas.

Then in September of 2008, Ike blazed through Houston and left many of the coastal areas in disarray. While Houstonians braced for the worst, my friends and I paddled out into the Gulf of Mexico on our surfboards. In Texas, summer waves are typically pretty small. However, coastal areas south of a hurricane often create ideal surfing conditions. Hurricane Ike definitely provided local surfers epic waves that easily towered over eight feet high.

Now over ten years later, I’m facing a new hurricane, Harvey. Thursday after work, I braved H-E-B to ensure we had all the essentials to brave the storm. I was amazed to discover many of the foods the store had already sold out of my 4:00 in the afternoon including bananas and milk. Thankfully I managed to find a cartful of non-perishable food items including bread, water, cashews, mandarin oranges, Granny Smith apples, tomatoes, baby food, diapers, soup, and beef jerky.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Corpus Christi this morning and many of our Texan neighbors in the surrounding areas will need assistance as they recover from the storm. The storm is predicted to bring large amounts of rain to the Houston area in the coming days. I am hopeful the rain will stall and have a far less significant impact on the area than originally predicted. In the meantime, I am hunkered down with my family waiting for the storm to pass again. I’m praying that my storied past with hurricanes ends on a high note with everyone around me safe and sound.

My Sunday morning started off like clockwork. Atticus started stirring around 6:00 a.m., so I tiptoed out of the room mindful that Sean was still sleeping. Because it was a Sunday morning, I decided to see if we could get a little more sleep after he nursed. So as I walked into the nursery, I made no noise and left the lights out as I cradled Atticus in my arms. He nodded off easily after about 15 minutes of nursing, and I laid him quietly back in his crib and tucked myself into the guest bed in the nursery for a little more shut eye.

We both managed about an hour of sleep before he woke up again, ready to take on the day. I enjoyed a cup of coffee as he played with baby animals on the nursery floor. My matte silver Rtic coffee tumbler became a source of interest for Atticus as I sipped my coffee so he spent a good part of the time trying to climb over my legs to reach it.

When Sean awoke, he joined us in the nursery and more giggles, climbing, and baby smiles ensued. A little after 8:00 we decided to take the party upstairs and wake Liam up with some family cuddles. Laughter and delight continued until out stomachs signaled it was time to think about breakfast.

Liam and I enjoyed a donut date at Shipley’s while Sean and Atticus spent some quality time at home playing the piano. After sharing a few donut holes and our own selections (a chocolate cinnamon twist for Liam and an old fashioned cinnamon roll for me), we zipped through Target for some supplies I needed for a few students. We also grabbed a Starbucks machiatto for Sean on the way out.

Back at home, Atticus settled into a nap, and Sean and Liam put up superhero posters using a level with a laser. Liam was especially mesmerized by the red lines emitted all around his room. While the guys were upstairs, I took care of prepping everything for dinner. I chopped garlic, sliced onions, and grated sweet potatoes. I also knocked out a few loads of laundry and took care of my least favorite chore, ironing.

After Atticus woke up, the four of us ventured out to the Rainforest Cafe for an adventurous lunch filled with elephants, alligators, gorillas, and an array of other wild animals. Liam loved being his dad’s tour guide through the restaurant pointing out specific animals or features of the rainforest like the rainbow and starscape.

On the return trip home, Liam enjoyed watching Wall E on the car’s DVD player, a novelty of the new car. Once we arrived home it was quiet time for Liam and naptime again for little Atticus. Sean and I enjoyed some downtime with a quiet afternoon catching up.

Then it was time to prepare dinner and enjoy some quality time with the boys. Liam serenaded me with his harmonica while wearing his special eyewear for eye protection. After all, you never know what kind of hazards you might encounter while playing a musical instrument! Atticus enjoyed bouncing along to Latin music, and I snuck in a few dance moves in between sautéing dinner. Liam shifted gears from music to athletic pursuits, running back and forth between the pantry door and the couch practicing his straddles for gymnastics.

Soon dinner was ready, and Sean returned home from the gym in time for us to enjoy a family dinner. After savoring our sweet potato hash, I cleaned the kitchen and prepped my lunch for work. Then Liam ran upstairs to take a shower, and it was time for Atticus to have a bath. Atticus snuck in a little playtime before bed enjoying the music and movement of his mobile. After nursing Atticus and laying him down in his crib for the night, I laced up my running shoes for my evening run. Before heading out, I ran upstairs to give hugs and wish Liam a goodnight.

On my evening run, I enjoyed a beautiful sunset, passed a family of ducks swimming in one of the lakes, and enjoyed the quietest part of my day reflecting on what a blessed Sunday it had been with my family. After my run, I showered, laid out my clothes for work, and settled into an episode of Breaking Bad with Sean. If I had to replay by day again, I would want it to play out exactly as it did. This day in the life of a Mama Bear was absolute perfection!