Hello again! It's Matt. The husband to Megan and father to Finnley. This picture was taken just about a week ago. Megan captured this moment during our first hurricane. Hurricane Sandy. I call it the calm DURING the storm. Because "the calm before the storm" didn't exist. It was a bit chaotic.
See, prior to the storm I was in Colorado for a reunion with fraternity brothers. I was due to fly in on Sunday just before Sandy was to make landfall basically right on our driveway. Megan did a fantastic job prepping us to be without power for days. Groceries were purchased. Laundry was done. Flashlights and batteries were ready. Electronics were charged. Screened in porch was secure. Cars were full of fuel. Wood was stacked in a dry area in order to build a fire. Megan did all of this....on her own while I was in route from Denver. Oh, and she cooked a huge dinner for us so we could eat leftovers for days. We. Were. Ready.
When I arrived there were a few more things to do. Rain began to fall around noon and fall hard. I went to the office to grab 30 gallons of water, fuel tanks to get gas for the generator that was previously delivered from the office, and anything else I felt was necessary for survival, which in this case turned out to be a bag of Oreos. I am glad I went to the office because the front lobby area was just beginning to flood. I placed a carpet in front of the door and that seemed to help. I went to Costco on the way home. There were 6 cars in the parking lot. Normally there are 600. I bought more batteries (totally unnecessary), gloves, trail mix, and toilet paper. Yes, toilet paper. I was fully expecting to crap my pants during my first hurricane. A lot. I. Was. Ready.
Turns out I didn't crap my pants. I did what a father and husband are supposed to do. I was at home protecting my family and keeping calm to keep them calm. Oh sure, there were moments when Sandy was so ferocious that Megan and I could do nothing but stare outside, wonder what was next, and say "whew" to each other quite a bit. In fact, there were several points during the next 24 hours where hell was literally breaking loose on our front lawn. And on lawns around us. And at the shore. Our poor shore. We witnessed the worst about Mother Nature. Megan thought she saw lightening. She didn't. She witnessed transformers exploding. Repeatedly.
But this picture captures all you need to know about our family. Calm during the storm. A dad there for his daughter. Cuddling. Sharing a moment. One calm moment. Love my girls and my dog. Don't love hurricanes.
