sandy

For starters, we are all just fine.

But with so many lives devastated by the storm, our sense of relief is tempered by concern for friends near and far. If you’re concerned too, consider giving to the Red Cross, or, if you’re in the city, maybe even lend a hand. Click here for a round-up of Brooklyn-related volunteer opportunities, or check Twitter for folks in need.

Although I’ve been in the city long enough to experience everything from blackouts to blizzards, Irene to subway strikes, I’ve never seen anything of this scale. Although our own neighborhood escaped relatively unscathed, the extent of the flood and fire damage to lower Manhattan, eastern Brooklyn and Queens, and Staten Island are present in our minds all the time. We hope that the affected parts of the city and region are able to return to normalcy soon.

As for us, we came home from the hospital Thursday, and our oldest is finally her old self again. After a couple of nights of enjoying our reunited family, the weather report grew ominous. We spent the weekend preparing for the storm. In some cases literally battening the (roof) hatches, which had blown off during Irene. And by Monday, we were hunkered down and as ready for the storm as we could be. At the height of the storm, our roof hatches rattled violently, the wind barreled down the avenue at a terrifying speed, our wood-frame house shook badly, and, almost comically, our drinks sloshed in their glasses. Through it all, I was so glad to be in touch with friends via Twitter–it was an amazing source of information, relaying important facts and horrifying pictures of familiar places inundated.

We are incredibly grateful for our good fortune. We have a warm house, electricity, and even internet service. We have food and supplies, and two healthy kids. But the city and daily routines are on hold. The cleanup is sure to take weeks. What to think? What to do? It’s hard to say, or see the way out of this. But for now, we’re taking it daily, checking out our own neighborhood, and wondering how things will proceed.

Wherever you are, I hope you’re safe. I hope your house is dry, and the land you love undisturbed. We’ll be back later in the week with recipes, but for now, today, it just didn’t feel right.

The above image was taken yesterday from the North 5th Street pier in Williamsburg.