The last two days have been filled with sadness, fear, worry, and an uncontrollable feeling of helplessness.
The wildfires in Central Texas can't even be described. I can't even look at the pictures online anymore. The pictures look like they came out of a movie. Unfortunately, they are real. It makes my stomach hurt.
Everyone in the area is just sitting on pins and needles. Bastrop has always been my favorite part of the drive between my parents house in Weimar and Austin. Those beautiful pines are now fuel. My friend said it best when she said, "I haven't been this sad since 9/11."
This is a bad nightmare, and it seems to be getting worse. We know people who have lost their homes. If you don't personally know of anyone, you know someone who knows someone else. I recognize the last names of people being interviewed on tv. I know where the subdivisions are that are being evacuated. I know that places I remembered going to as a little girl are now gone or being threatened.
Randy has many fond memories of Bastrop as his Grandparents live here. He learned to play golf with his Papa at the golf course in Bastrop State Park which unfortunately is no more.
This evening because of the crazy winds, the fire was approaching the Fayette County border line. Oh how I love Fayette County! Randy and I know that one day we will move back and raise our family there. We loved growing up in that area, and we're just sick about the fires that are threatening the area. We are waiting and praying for some good news. But the fire remains at 0 percent containment as it continues to spread. Luckily the winds are dying down.
Please pray for Texas! Please pray for the families who have lost their homes and the brave people fighting these beasts. The unknown is so scary. Bastrop, Texas is on my mind constantly as people are facing this nightmare dead on as they evacuate and wait and wait some more for the news of whether their house, belongings, and treasures have been spared. I know these are just "things," but it doesn't make it any better.
Bastrop's fire is by far the largest, but it's not the only one. I'm also praying for my school's community. 25 homes have been burnt down and more damaged in the area where I work. We don't have school tomorrow due to the fires. People are hoping to return to their neighborhoods tomorrow, and we will know more about the damage then. I believe our school has been spared.
What a roller coaster day! Randy has monitored my access to all the pages on Facebook. Can I give a shout out to Mark Z? He is amazing for his Facebook invention. I have been more informed than ever. Facebook is about 2 hours ahead of the Austin news update. Fayette County EMS has been extremely helpful if anyone is looking for a good site to follow. I'm probably too informed for being an expecting mom. My baby is probably so stressed out right now (hence the monitoring). Tomorrow, I will need to find some distractions. Maybe I'll work on my geography skills. I can't even tell you how frustrated Randy is with my compass skills. So I might get a little confused with all this east and west stuff. He even gave me a lesson tonight on Google maps. I'm just concerned and worry gets in the way with all this north/south/east/west lingo.
Just please make it stop!
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