Before the Storm

     As I am sitting here, writing this post at my cousin's house in Austin, my home in Corpus Christi is currently waiting to get hit by a Category 3 hurricane. I almost didn't want to write anything about it. I wanted to avoid and hope that it was all a bad nightmare that I would wake up from. 
     It was never my intention to write something like this on my blog, but this is real and this is my home. I can't help but write about it. Plus... I couldn't fit my thoughts into 140 characters on Twitter. 

     But it's not. Corpus has weathered so many things in the past, but the last time a hurricane hit us was in 1970, Hurricane Celia, another category 3. There have been storms in the past that intended to hit Corpus but always turned or reversed into nothing before they did. 
     Obviously we've seen what happens when hurricanes do hit, and there is never not a time when our city tries to help out others impacted, but it is crazy and scary to think about what's going to happen when we get hit. I have friends and family all across the city, plus in Houston, Galveston, etc. and we are all in the path of it. 
     I have been scrolling through Twitter, Instagram and Facebook trying to keep tabs on everyone as well as the hurricane and everything I see makes my heart ache. But also swell because amidst all the scary and depressing news, I see tweets of encouragement from people all across the country, I see people offering up their homes to loved ones, to friends, I see our city protecting our residents. I have seen people go directly to nursing homes, hospitals and shelters to help get everyone out who can't do it themselves. 
     We are getting hit by a hurricane but we're all in this together. It is scary. To not know what you're gonna be going back to, to a city that has been your home for the past 22 years, about to get destroyed. To top it off, it is supposed to be stalling for a day or two after it hits, so I don't know when I'll be able to get back home. 
     I've been in a lot of scary situations, but this...This takes the cake. 
     Maybe I'll update this when I finally do get to go home and see what has happened to our sparkling city by the bay. All I ask if for positive vibes to be sent our way. My mom, aunt, uncle, dad, step aunt and uncle all will be staying in CC because of their jobs. Plus others who are too stubborn for their own good but hey, we wouldn't be Corpus Christi citizens if we weren't. 
     To my fellow Corpus Christi people, stay safe and stay strong. We all have each other's backs. 

Hurricane Celia, 1970

HEB, Hurricane Harvey, 2017