For those curious as to how the fire started, we do not completely know. We do know it originated in the wall where the wood stove pipe connects to the chimney. i had just come home from volunteering at the school. Nothing was out of the norm. i made myself some lunch, and sat down at the computer and began reply to posts/messages on facebook. My cat who had been sitting in front of the wood stove got up, walked into the kitchen and began staring up at the wall. He has done this in the past when there was a mouse in the wall, or sometimes rain would drip down the chimney and make a tinking sound. While typing my finger tips began to tingle and feel numb. So i got up to dip my fingers in the pan of water on the stove (it was hot) and i walked into the kitchen to see what it was that was holding his attention. That's when i heard a very faint crinkling noise coming from the wall. My first thought was that it was ice breaking up on the roof, but it was an unusual sound and it was getting louder. So i called my husband to tell him there was a really weird noise coming from the wall, and as i am standing there talking to him and looking up at where the ceiling and the wall connect i begin to see smoke. That's when it hit me. i remember yelling, 'Oh my god' the wall is on fire! Then i hung up and called 911.
i thought the fire trucks would come and put the fire out. i expected some serious damage to the wall, and water damage throughout the house. It never ever occurred to me that they wouldn't be able to put the fire out. It all happened so fast. The fireman came and they blasted water at the house, and i sat in my car and watched my house burn down. Completely indescribable feeling.
So getting back to the title of my post, i have found myself forced out of my Hobbit hole (comfort zone) with no choice but to keep moving forward. So many people keep telling me i am strong. It's not about strength, it's about survival. There is no other choice but to keep moving, to keep trucking along on this unexpected journey we now find our selves on.
So what does one do when your house burns down and you have no where to go?
First stop, Hotel Floyd. The fire chief at the scene contacted the Red Cross. The Red Cross provided emergency shelter. They put us up at the Floyd Hotel for three nights. A woman from the Red Cross met us at the hotel a few hours after we arrived there. She provided 4 handmade blankets that had been donated from Project Linus, 4 Target personal tote bags each contained personal care and toiletry items...tooth brush, tooth paste, deodorant, shampoo, comb etc. She had totebags for the kids from Project Night Night. Each bag contained a blanket, a few books and a stuffed animal. She also had an emergency assistance visacard, which provided money to purchase some food and basic necessities. i remember very little of the first night at all, except that i could not sleep. Every time my eyes closed smoke would begin to seep into my dream and a grey nothingness would consume everything.
So this is where our journey began.
“Go back?" he thought. "No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!" So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
