When I stepped out into my yard to get the paper, I expected to be standing in a squishy pool of mud.
But to my surprise, the ground was dry – for the first time since Tropical Storm Isaac’s “feeder bands” came through my town, Royal Palm Beach, Florida.
My town and the surrounding areas got hit with more rain than any other area in Florida. And since many of our houses are built between lakes and canals, the 15 inches of rain caused some serious flooding. It looked like my neighbors and I were all living on little “islands.”
I’m lucky that I live only a mile from my clinic. But even to go that short distance, I had to drive through two huge flooded roads just to get there.
The storm also knocked out my power for three days. No refrigerator. No television. No air conditioning. No Internet. (My fiancée and son didn’t realize how much Facebook had become part of their lives until they couldn’t log on.) But you know what? It wasn’t so bad.
We read books to each other by candlelight. And we had a chance to just talk, catch up and reconnect without interference of the modern technology. It made me think of one of my favorite quotes, “The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have.”
Maybe that’s what we learned during the storm. When we don’t have things that we consider to be “essential,” like electronics, we somehow get by, making the best of what we have. Even though it’s a long way from the best of everything, getting back to basics can help you reflect on what’s really important in life.
But for all the flooding and lack of power, it’s nothing compared to the devastation in Louisiana when Isaac turned into a hurricane. My thoughts still go out to all the people who are suffering.