Out Of The Ashes

My husband and I have been there – in August 2020, a few short hours after evacuating, our home was gone. There was six inches of ash inside the former foundation with only a few recognizable items remaining.

Finding the charred license plate (in the garage), and the Gingher pinking shears (in my sewing room) felt like a message – a sign that we each held something that would remind us of the past as we rebuilt for our future.

Somehow, we managed to navigate through it all; embracing the fact that we moved from We Can Do This to We Did It! We learned late in the process that some people move away and start over; most do not re-build in the same place.

The pain of losing our house and contents was unbearable, but our love was stronger. It was the nostalgic traditions and heartfelt connections we've long established with family and friends, in this special place, that made our decision to stay so right.

"Promise me you'll always remember: you're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." ~A.A. Milne

Creative outlets (like doodling, learning Adobe Illustrator and writing short stories about quilts) were remarkably helpful to me during our healing journey. I will share more details in a future post about what I call Our 5 Rs:

REGRETS  It's human nature to have them, but we could not let the fire steal everything from us.

RE-IMAGINING  This process was empowering.

RE-BUILDING  This long step reinvigorated our focus.

RE-INVENTING  Deciding what was now relevant, by examining our options, was quite overwhelming.

RESILIENCE  We celebrated small milestones along the way.

I am so sorry if you have navigated this journey or are currently working your way through. From my personal experience, I understand – I will keep you in my heart.

Thank you for stopping by.

XOXOX