Hoboken Mummy : BOKEN, NOT BROKEN.

I think words cannot describe what this week has been like.

There are certain things in life I thought, or assumed I might never have to live through. In my mind I always assume, I'm sure like most other mothers do, that my kids will grow up healthy, I'll live a long and happy life and that I'll never have to face hardship, disaster or unprecedented grief before it's time.

I also assume, or hope, I'll never die in a plane crash, get struck by lighting or be run over by a bus. Much like I never thought I'd have to live through a tsunami, earthquake or hurricane. From a small town in South Africa at one point in my life this seemed a given.

Then, last week whilst on a family trip to Washington DC we slowly learnt that a category 1 hurricane was fast approaching the east coast of the US expecting to make landfall on the Jersey Shore sometime late Monday night. It seemed unreal, especially as we sat in Gerogetown, Washington DC on Saturday afternoon there wasn't a breath of wind and at one point it seemed as warm as a mid summers day. We kept joking to each other - there couldn't possibly be a big storm coming. Frankenstorm as she was nick named.

Hurricane Sandy has been described as the worst storm ever. A super-storm that has restulted in hundreds dead, $50 billions worth of damage and for me, a lifetimes worth of bad memories.

We arrived back to Hoboken late Sunday afternoon and within minutes we where sandbagging our doorways, taping the windows, tying down furniture and late Sunday evening I spent almost two hours driving around Hoboken and Jersey City looking for higher ground to park our car. It was a mad dash to try find water, fresh milk, flashlights, batteries, beer and wine. It was serious Armageddon.

And then after all the chaos our curfew kicked into place and just like that we where locked up, sandbagged and house bound until further notice. It all seemed too surreal. We fed the kids early, bathed them, filled the baths, baby baths and two storage containers with water, charged everything we could find and sat and waited.

Our house is situated between two taller blocks of flats and behind another two so in some ways quite protected from wind. It's also incredibly sound proof. The double or triple glazing is incredible. In between the TV, chatting and making dinner we could hear wind but nothing like what was going on outside.
Pete casually wandered down to our bedroom around 9pm and found this.

Adams Road, or is that Adams River. We couldnt' believe our eyes. It was gushing down the street and we could barely open the windows without fear of them blowing off the hinges. We sat and watched the water rise and rise and soon worried for the safety of our things on the lower level of our property and the kids asleep in their bedroom on the same level as this.

By 2am Tuesday morning we had firefighters paroling the streets in boats putting out fires caused by trees bringing the power cables down, and rescuing families from their homes. In between the dying wind, the gushing water, car alarms, and the high pitched shrieks from the electrical power stations being flooded I dozed into sleep thinking that by morning it would all be over.

Tuesday morning we woke up to no power. The day was spent in doors with 6ft of water blocking our way out and with no lights, no internet, no TV and no radio we where non the wiser to the destruction that Sandy had created. My phone started beeping every five minutes with messages from all over the world saying ' We've seen the photos, are you ok?' ' Seen this picture on the news and heard about Hoboken, I hope you're ok' Really? We had no idea! It was the worst 24 hours.

Despite that, the kids seemed non the wiser and quite enjoyed the novelty of 'no lectricity'. We enjoyed the time to play games, watch the water from our bedroom window and eat dinner by camp light.

By Wednesday afternoon the water had receded enough for us to try venture out the house and for this intense want to know what had happened and see the destruction, I put on the wellies, plastic bagged my legs and headed out. Hoboken was more than 70% under water and the streets where horrible - dark dirty water stained with sewage and gas leaks, littered with trees, random cars and the odd personal item.

Finally by late Wednesday we where able to shoulder lift the kids to higher ground to give them some much needed fresh air and the chance to jump in muddy puddles.

There has been far too much going on since Wednesday making it impossible for me to write about it, but we've since gained our power back, hosted several play dates, cooked for our neighbours, walked the streets trying to figure out ways to help those that have lost their homes and above and beyond that keep the kids happy and safe.

It is SO sad to see the destruction that Sandy has caused in Hoboken but I can't even begin to think what it's been like for those in areas like Staten Island and the Jersey Shore which where hit worse. My heart goes out to every single person who's been affected by this.

As for Hoboken, I'm sure she'll recover. Eventually. We've only got 20 days left before our forced eviction from the US so sadly we may not see her back to her original beauty but in my mind this truly has been the best city I have ever lived in and will always have very very special memories for me and my kids.