Shock & Awe

 

Our fire took place late in the afternoon of June 19th, 2023. At the time, my husband and I were in Boston. However, due to various circumstances, our three adult children were home for the summer. Our daughter, Sophia, was napping  in her room, following a stressful day at work while our son, Jonah, was convalescing in the family room. A few weeks earlier, he had torn his ACL, MCL, and PCL playing a game of ultimate frisbee. This was the calm before the storm….

 

Less than an hour later our son, Gabriel, went out to mow. As he pushed the electric mower to the back yard, he noticed an odd smell in the garage. By the time he walked back to the garage for the mower battery, smoke was billowing up from the hood of our car. The storm was upon us….

 

Gabriel has a rare form of dystonia, which causes the muscles in his hands to be bent and twisted in unnatural ways. The dystonia has a stranglehold on his facial muscles, as well, making speech difficult. Despite these challenges, Gabriel tried desperately to pop the hood of our car with his contorted hands. Realizing his limitations as well as the limited time he had to respond, Gabriel ran into the house and yelled for his brother, Jonah. He struggled to get his muscles to yell a warning cry for help as he choked on the smoke that saturated the garage. Jonah did hear him and immediately knew by his tone that this was an emergency. Despite having a serious knee injury, Jonah rushed to Gabriel’s aid. 

 

Together, our boys worked to open the hood of the car in an attempt to squelch the danger at hand with our fire extinguisher. Unfortunately, time was up. Oxygen hit the flame which rapidly spread to the combustibles in the car. Coming face to face with the realities of what was unfolding, Jonah raced back into the house to get Sophia out while Gabriel warned our neighbors. As they each fled the rapidly spreading fire, Sophia grabbed our dog, Piper. Everyone was safe. There was nothing left for them to do, but to watch helplessly as the fire consumed their childhood home. 

 

By the time my husband and I arrived from Boston, it was around 3 o’clock in morning. The home we left the day before was now condemned. I was in shock. Everything was gone. Our home was built in the 1940s and is in an historic neighborhood.  We spent years updating our home, room by room, choosing to do most of the work ourselves. It was a true labor of love. During the pandemic, we finished the last room on the list, the kitchen. I loved our home and I cherished the time we spent working on it as a family, yet I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that the beautiful home we created was now displaced by ruins that held sorrow and pain. 

 

I was also in mourning. I mourned the loss of our home and the treasures it held. I mourned the memories that were created within those walls.  I mourned the loss of routines, like gathering in the family room for movie night. I mourned the sense of feeling safe and secure. Our lives were no longer predictable. 

 

Despite the physical and emotional hurdles brought on by the fire, we truly found ourselves in awe. Looking back over the events, we were able to see miracles hidden amongst the trauma. 

 

We were in awe as we considered the significance it was for our children to be together during the fire. As I mentioned earlier, circumstances were such that all of them were home for the summer, yet it was unusual for everyone to be at home at that time of day. Working as a team, they helped navigate the events of that day. The outcome could’ve been very different if they didn’t have each other.

 

We were in awe as we considered the timing. Gabriel wouldn’t normally have been mowing at that time of day. If he would’ve been in his bedroom, which is over the garage, at the time of the fire, there’s a very good chance he wouldn’t have survived. It would’ve been nearly impossible for him to escape due to his physical challenges. Gabriel was in the right place at the right time, which not only spared his life, but allowed him to give a warning cry that ended up saving all of our children.  

 

We were in awe as we considered the love and support of family, friends and even strangers. My parents provided immeasurable support to our children, standing with them during the fire and giving them a safe place to rest afterwards. This put our minds at ease as parents who were still so far away. Despite rolling up to the charred remains of our home at 3:00 am, our sweet neighbor came over as soon as she saw us. She held me in a warm embrace as I wept for our loss. Members of the neighborhood church showered us with handmade cards &  gift cards, texts of encouragement and an abundance of prayers. They even made quilts for each member of our family, which they brought to our house when we moved back. As we began shopping for the items we lost,  sales clerks were even filled with compassion as they learned of our circumstances. 

 

It would be impossible to list every good deed or kindness we received. Yet each one touched us so deeply. With our loss still so fresh and raw, I could barely speak our words of gratitude. The countless acts of generosity towards our family were a healing balm to our broken hearts.