Hurricane Sandy story- Ali Generelli

            We had been warned about the storm but never expected it to be anything like this. My mother, my mother’s boyfriend, Brian, my sister, Jaine and my baby brother, Evan sat at the dining room table with my grandparents in silence. No one knew what to say. The only thing we could think of was the storm and that was the last thing anyone wanted to talk about. It was our first real meal since before the storm, in our home. I should say “what was our home.” Our home is gone. Nothing is left except a trashed, lifeless yard.

            Let me rewind a bit. My name is Chelsea and I’m 20 years old. My family and I were directly affected by a horrifying, destroying storm called Hurricane Sandy. Our home in Rumson, New Jersey was completely destroyed. The day before the storm came we decided to go stay at my grandparents’ house. My mom insisted that we go there just in case. My family and I weren't too scared of the storm. We've experienced hurricanes before and the beforehand warnings always turn out to be completely exaggerated. For some reason my mom just had a bad feeling about this one. Well, she was right. Little did I know, Hurricane Sandy would be the most destructive, life-ruining storm, my family and most people would experience in their whole life time.

            We hid out in my grandparents’ house for about a week. We didn't have much access to the news because my grandparents’ house was powerless for the whole week and a half. Powerless sounds rough but at least we were safe. I never expected to see my home the way I saw it when I returned after a week and a half. There was no home left for me to look at. It was a pile of bits of the house and trash and an empty yard. There were pieces of the roof and some furniture and belongings left around, destroyed. Even my brother Evan, only 3 looked extremely confused. Jaine and my mother were hysterically crying. Brian just shook his head back and forth. Me, I had no response at all. I was still in complete utter shock. My mom tried to pick out belongings that we could save. I didn't even bother. It was too hard for me. Who knew that nature could do such a thing?

            It’s been a month and a week since the storm. We aren't doing as bad as I predicted. We have been staying at my grandparents’ house. We’re eating our first meal together since the storm. Things are still pretty awkward. I am writing this as I sit at the dinner table. We will be moving into an apartment that the government is providing for us, since we lost everything. Our move in date is exactly two weeks from today. It will be nice for us to finally have a place to live again but I don’t think my family and I will ever be able to call it “home.” This was a wake-up call, for my family and I. Nature is not always our friend.