“How did you do in the storm?” That question has
been asked by us and of us with each and every customer who has walked into Ace
Office Furniture. Only a few – mainly
because who has time to shop for office furniture when you’ve had three feet of
water in your business – have said, “We took a real hit. I don’t know if
we’ll ever recover.” Most of the answers
have varied from “Oh, we did just great!” to “Well, we had a
little water but nothing compared to so many.” At Ace Office Furniture, and in our homes, we
were fortunate. We lost no furniture and had only a patch of wet carpet. We were very fortunate.
been asked by us and of us with each and every customer who has walked into Ace
Office Furniture. Only a few – mainly
because who has time to shop for office furniture when you’ve had three feet of
water in your business – have said, “We took a real hit. I don’t know if
we’ll ever recover.” Most of the answers
have varied from “Oh, we did just great!” to “Well, we had a
little water but nothing compared to so many.” At Ace Office Furniture, and in our homes, we
were fortunate. We lost no furniture and had only a patch of wet carpet. We were very fortunate.
The thing we all have in common, regardless of our answer to
the question, “How did you do in the storm?” is that most of us are
asking, “Why me?” Ten percent of people in the Houston area
may be asking why their property was destroyed, but another ninety percent is
asking, “Why was I so lucky to be spared?”, experiencing a type of
survivor guilt. And regardless of the amount of water we had or didn’t have in
our homes and business, we ALL have experienced PTSS – Post Traumatic Stress
Syndrome /Post Tropical Storm Stress. We
may find ourselves sleeping fitfully or sleeping much more than usual. We may
feel kind of paralyzed or, the opposite, feel almost hypervigilant. We may
catch ourselves watching the weather reports, particularly now that the East
Coast is dealing with Hurricane Irma, with heightened anxiety, empathy for the
Floridians that wait to return to their homes and sympathy for those who may
have no home to return to. If we had to
evacuate during Harvey, we may freeze each time we hear a siren or helicopter. If we had to boil your water, we may have
difficulty drinking tap water even though it’s been declared safe.
the question, “How did you do in the storm?” is that most of us are
asking, “Why me?” Ten percent of people in the Houston area
may be asking why their property was destroyed, but another ninety percent is
asking, “Why was I so lucky to be spared?”, experiencing a type of
survivor guilt. And regardless of the amount of water we had or didn’t have in
our homes and business, we ALL have experienced PTSS – Post Traumatic Stress
Syndrome /Post Tropical Storm Stress. We
may find ourselves sleeping fitfully or sleeping much more than usual. We may
feel kind of paralyzed or, the opposite, feel almost hypervigilant. We may
catch ourselves watching the weather reports, particularly now that the East
Coast is dealing with Hurricane Irma, with heightened anxiety, empathy for the
Floridians that wait to return to their homes and sympathy for those who may
have no home to return to. If we had to
evacuate during Harvey, we may freeze each time we hear a siren or helicopter. If we had to boil your water, we may have
difficulty drinking tap water even though it’s been declared safe.
We may wonder if things will ever be normal again in Texas –
and in our own lives. So, we need to go easy on ourselves and give ourselves
time to heal from the losses we and all of we have experienced, personally or
vicariously. We will be normal again, but it will be a NEW normal and we will
have learned, if we are fortunate, some
very important things about what’s really important. And I hope we’ll continue to ask that
question of each other, regardless of the situation: “How did you do in the storm?”
and in our own lives. So, we need to go easy on ourselves and give ourselves
time to heal from the losses we and all of we have experienced, personally or
vicariously. We will be normal again, but it will be a NEW normal and we will
have learned, if we are fortunate, some
very important things about what’s really important. And I hope we’ll continue to ask that
question of each other, regardless of the situation: “How did you do in the storm?”
~ Linda Wood Astala
(9-08-17)
(9-08-17)