Earthquake recovery

Records and box sets spilled out, blocking the door to a closet.

An unexpected beginning to our day yesterday; at 2.34 am a 6.4 quake roughly stirred us from bed. In all my years dwelling in California, I have never experienced such turbulence, and boy howdy, this one packed a punch. Several striking memories remain, reaching for my bedside phone, but finding it had been tossed to the floor along with a small bookcase. Putting on shoes as a 4.6 aftershock rumbled through. Locating my computer tower on the floor next to my desk (spoiler alert; once power was restored at 8 pm, both my machine and my husband's were just fine!). A large bookshelf was toppled, vinyl albums flung from shelves in the living room, a few dishes scattered on the floor. Several framed photos had fallen, but only two sported cracked glass, one from which I was able to extricate the picture. No structural damage to our knowledge, and we had hot running water and a generator going all day. For all that could have occurred, our home weathered the quake well. My peace of mind, however, is far from repaired.

I slept on the sofa last night, crashing before eight pm after such an early start. The power was still off, we used battery candles for illumination. I took one to gather bedding, our room on the second floor, and I was not all at ready to sleep there, not to mention it required a run with the hoover, which my husband accomplished after power was restored. Maybe it's good that our couch is only adequate for one night's rest; I'd probably crash here for subsequent evenings, not quite ready to be upstairs in the dark. My sense of safety was compromised mostly by a late afternoon aftershock, a 4.4 hit that occurred as I gathered scattered possessions from our floor. I went outside after that, collecting another wheelbarrow of firewood. Breathing deeply, I had to acknowledge that despite how well our home weathered the quake, my inner peace was still reeling. And it's tenuous this morning too; I could hear my husband stirring as I brought the morning brews into the living room, but no way could I take the stairs to see him. I'm a fairly down to earth person, but right now this earth is a little too wobbly for my liking.

Yet that shaken faith lies alongside all that wasn't harmed; a tall plant stand remained erect, kitchen cabinets remained closed, two pantry shelves standing their ground. The arbitrary damage is intriguing, not to mention how my computer is still running, ahem. A vase underneath a fallen bookcase sustained no breaks, and all that I recently adhered to surfaces with earthquake putty didn't budge. I'm going to invest in a LOT of that, lol, but for now treasured photos have been boxed away. I may slap an entire package of putty underneath my PC tower; perhaps earthquake preparedness goes beyond extra water and flashlights. Will these steps enhance my sense of well-being, I certainly hope so!

But for how long will my unease last is unknown. It's ohmah polise, definitely a gracious mystery. Our beloved fighting cancer is out of ICU, very good news. And it's a new day, close to Christmas, much to celebrate. And contemplate. We're safe, the house is stable, and recovery takes as long as necessary. Ohmah polise all over the place.