Currently: June 2023

I don't know how to start this post but there was a tragic house fire across the street and a few houses down from us late Sunday night-early Monday morning. We didn't know the neighbours well -- we said "Hi" as we passed each other on the street and the mom was often out walking their dogs. The family was an older couple with their two young adult sons. Unfortunately, the mother was killed in the fire and one of the sons is currently seriously injured in the ICU. All of the pets also died.

It was a terrifying evening, and an incredibly large fire. I was one of the first people to call 9-1-1, we sheltered other neighbours who had to be evacuated from their homes due to proximity, and we watched helplessly as firefighters battled for three hours to get the fire out.

I cannot say enough good things about the firefighters and all the emergency personnel who worked so hard to keep the fire from spreading further. I will add that while a few other houses were affected (including the house of a friend of ours), our house and yard and car are completely fine. Our family was never evacuated and we feel very thankful that the fire did not get any worse than it was. 

So, while I am belatedly linking up with Jennifer at Overflowing With Thankfulness for "Currently" my heart and mind are very focused on what our street is experiencing right now.

[loving]

While I definitely don't love the circumstances which lead to this, I am loving how much our neighbours are connecting and coming together to support each other during this difficult time. I am building relationships with people I knew well enough to wave at, but hadn't really talked to much before. When neighbours are evacuated from their houses in the middle of the night, you invite them in for warmth and safety and it forges connections. I really hope we can continue to build these relationships once the immediacy of these current circumstances have passed.

[doing]

I am doing a lot of planting. I initially bought about 90 annuals to plant in our yard and planters, and then we needed (hahahaha!) to pick up about 20 more. As of a few nights ago, they are all planted in our yard or in planters, and I am so happy. Unfortunately, I've been so busy doing all the planting that I haven't actually taken many pictures of the final product.

We went to help out some good friends on Monday night, and ironically, my friend determined that it would be most helpful if we did some of her planting too, so I planted another twenty or so annuals at her house. Just call me if you need any annuals planted because I clearly "can't stop, won't stop!" Hahaha!

[trying]

I am trying to get used to the big fence our next door neighbours built. It is rather large and looming, and it wasn't our choice. I was talking with another neighbour and she commented that these neighbours really don't get "the vibe" of our neighbourhood, which perfectly defines how I feel.

I'm am also trying to catch up on sleep since, thanks to all the commotion, I only got about 45 minutes on Sunday night. Unfortunately, sleep has been hard to come by so I haven't been very successful at that just yet.

[seeing]

Honestly, we've been seeing a lot of emergency vehicles on our street. It's been very overwhelming and we have had to ask the police or the fire inspectors to move their vehicles almost every time we need to exit our driveway. One time we needed to wait until a local news crew was finished filming their live segment before we could leave our drive.

Left: two trucks fighting the fire on Sunday night (the house on fire is out of the picture) and I was far down the street when I took this, so as not to be in the way. The back of the second fire engine was at the end of our driveway. There were another three fire trucks on another street, as our street angles strangely and the house on fire backed onto it. Right: Just a sampling of some of the vehicles carrying out their fire investigation tasks in the past few days. There are another two vehicles parked behind the red vehicle on the left.

[reading]

I am reading Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow on my e-reader. I am enjoying it but I've been a little distracted the past few days.

So that's what's been up with us "currently." I am just so sad and heartbroken for the family and drawing on support from other neighbours as we try to heal from a traumatic night. Please hold the family who was most directly affected, and those of us who live near them, in your prayers as we navigate the next days and weeks.