since the storm

Everyone begins sentences with that phrase here these days....
since the storm,this is what has been happening here....
My mom broke her arm falling over a pile of hurricane debris and has proceeded to break all of our spirits...she is a dear and we love her, but age and infirmity do not make her any less difficult to deal with.She has, how shall I put it? always had rather definite opinions and is truly generous with expressing them, often without waiting for us to ask.Mariah does well with her and has been helping out so much. I am truly leaning on my eldest a lot these days. It is amazing how life turns around.
Caitlin is on the Cross Country Track Team at Murphy. Only 3 freshman make it so it is truly a dig deal.On the morning of her first meet she was nervous. "What if I am last?"she said. I told her if she saw none behind her, just turn around and casually stroll through the woods as though she was not racing that day.It is hard to be inobtrusive arond my mom. As we looked toward the woods, more and more runners came out. My dear mother kept exclaiming LOUDLY, "well, where is that girl? Don't you think you ought to go get her? Did she sit down to rest somewhere?" She wan't last, but definitely in the lead of the back of the pack.She ran so hard, she threw up. A fellow freshman, obviously smitten, was heard to say to his firend,"she  is tough, she ran so hard she puked!" Way to get the guys , Caitlin!
My friends from Mississippi are here for a good while. They will be getting a FEMA trailer, one o f the first availiable since she is a teacher & they are opening school (also in trailers) by November 1st. I am shocked at that since there is not a building standing in her little town. People that live by the water know the chance they take & are philosophical about loss of property when loss of life is such a near thing.It is different here now. I live in a mid-size city that got a lot of damage but suffered no loss of life due to the storm. People are always pretty friendly & this town has not lost a small town feel, but "since the storm" everyone is gentler, more open.The horror stories on the news were real places, family faces. I wnt to the DMV to get my car tag (I only bought the car in April)and it was filled with people who officially don't exist ,having lost all ID.YOU would think it would be a grim place, as it generally is in the best of circumstances. oh, no, folks were laughing, tellling storm stories, joking, hugging....you see long lines of people standing in the grocery stores to cash their Red Cross checks. It is like a party.
I hope the piles of dead trees are gone soon... I hope this gratitude stays in our hearts.