Rebuilding house and life after a fire
This blog is a journal about a challenging time in my life due to a house fire, my son's depression, and beginning my empty nest stage of life. The fire at my house occured exactly 6 weeks before the first entry, and reliving it through writing is both difficult and helpful.The journal has caught up to real time now, but I do look back now and then to reflect and add perspective.Archives
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Tag Archives: personal memoir
Two Years Out (104)
Has it really been two years since the fire? Just a couple of weeks ago I was thinking about how people get through bad events in their lives – it was the week of the Boston Marathon bomb and West, … Continue reading
Posted in House Fire, Uncategorized
Tagged Buddy, daughter, dogs, Downscaling, empty nest, family, fire, moving, my life, neighbors, personal memoir, Rosie, son
4 Comments
It’s not really the end … (103)
Last weekend I had a housewarming party. I’ve been in my new home for over 3 months now, and while there are still a few mini-projects to finish up, the house is basically unpacked, decorated, and settled. This party was … Continue reading
Posted in Blogging, Depression, Dogs, House Fire, My Life, New Beginning, Personal Memoir, Son, Writing
Tagged AAA insurance, Bastrop fires, blogging, Buddy, burn unit, colleagues, contractor, daughter, dogs, empty nest, ER, fire, house fire, housewarming party, insurance, mental illness, my life, personal memoir, realtors, Rosie, smoke inhalation, son's depression, Specialty Restoration of Texas, writing
8 Comments
Seeking Closure (102)
Are we there yet? I knew that reaching the one-year anniversary of my house fire would not bring full closure, but I guess I was hoping deep down that I’d be able to close the door firmly on this episode … Continue reading
Posted in House Fire, My Life, Personal Memoir
Tagged closure after crisis, ER, family, fire, fire anniversary, house fire, insurance, my life, personal memoir, personal property, post-trauma, recovering from fire
1 Comment
Deja vu (101)
The past week I had an eerie feeling of deja vu. My daughter Sarah was soon to return home for the summer, just as she had last year about this time, and she was returning to a unknown house and a … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter, Depression, Downscaling, My Life, New Beginning, Personal Memoir
Tagged daughter, deja-vu, Downscaling, empty nest, family, fire, house, insurance, moving, my life, personal memoir, son, son's depression
1 Comment
To blog or not to blog? (100)
Have I really written 100 entries? This seems almost as incredible as reaching the one year anniversary of the fire. I began posting this blog about six weeks after the fire, but it soon caught up to real time. Friends … Continue reading
Posted in Blogging, Depression, House Fire, My Life, Personal Property
Tagged empty nest, family, fire, Judaism, my life, personal memoir, soccer, son's depression, travel adventures, writing
3 Comments
One Year Anniversary (99)
As I write this chapter, it is exactly one year since I got the call from my neighbor, while I was getting off the airplane, telling me there was a fire at my house and my son was on the … Continue reading
Posted in Change, Depression, Family Crisis, House Fire, My Life, Personal Memoir, Son, Stress, Turkey, Uncategorized
Tagged BAMC, Bastrop fires, Brooke Army Medical Center, change, daughter, dogs, empty nest, father's death, fire, fire anniversary, house, immigration laws, insurance, miscarriage, my life, personal memoir, post-trauma stress, reactions, smoke inhalation, son, son's depression
3 Comments
Unpacking Memories (98)
Muchos libros. Carlos, the man installing my new windows, said this as he saw me trying to organize the piles and piles of unpacked books stacked haphazardly on shelves in my study. They’re not just books, I told him. They’re memories … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Personal Memoir
Tagged books, books as memories, children's books, fire, furniture, German, Jewish, Judaism, memories, moving, my life, personal memoir, Russian, soccer, Spanish
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One Person’s Junk (97)
Unpacking one’s possessions is a process of discovery. Or rather, rediscovery. I’ve moved often enough in my life, packing and unpacking many of the same things, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Each time I pack, I weed out … Continue reading
Posted in Moving, New Beginning, Personal Memoir, Personal Property
Tagged California, Downscaling, fire, Germany, Israel, Jewish, kibbutz Ketura, mementos, Mexico, moving, my life, objects as memories, personal memoir, Russia, Russian, tchochkes, Turkey
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Half empty or half full? (96)
I’m talking about my garage, of course, not a glass of water. I’m usually a ‘half full’ kind of person, but in my current situation, ‘half empty’ would be the more optimistic view. No matter how many boxes I unpack, … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Moving, My Life, Personal Memoir
Tagged books, contractor, Downscaling, fire, furniture, insurance, moving, my life, personal memoir
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Let’s Move! (95)
“Let’s Move!” is the slogan for Michelle Obama’s cause to get kids living healthier. Adults, too, but mostly she focuses on the nation’s youth. Now, I realize that the first lady was talking about exercise and fitness, not moving households, … Continue reading
Posted in Moving
Tagged Buddy, dogs, fire, house, Let's Move, Michelle Obama, moving, my life, personal memoir, Rosie, son
1 Comment