Another Kind of Anniversary

Today is another anniversary for our family.  Today marks two years since our home was destroyed by fire.  Not something we choose to celebrate, but something that is there in the back of all our minds.  Even two years after the fire, there are still little things that haunt us.

This morning Rick and I went to vote.  He handed his driver's license to the poll worker and she looked at him and informed him that it had expired.  After a quick run home to grab birth certificate and social security card, we went back to the polls so Rick could vote and then I drove him to the Drivers' License Office.  I know I had reminded him previously to check the expiration on his license because I thought his always expired two years after mine, but he said that since he hadn't received anything reminding him to renew, he didn't worry about it.  At the DLD office, he asked why he hadn't received anything in the mail, since he knew our son had a couple of months earlier.  It was explained to him that since he had had a license reissued to him during the last five years, there is not a renewal notice sent out.  Of course the reason he had a license reissued was to replace the license destroyed in the fire.

Saturday we were coming home from a swim meet in Fredonia and saw big clouds of smoke off to the northwest of Hurricane.  This fire, the Quail Fire, burned over 1,700 acres and destroyed two outbuildings.  Many families had to be evacuated and left knowing their homes were in jeopardy.  (Read about the fire here.)  We made sure that we did not watch the news and kept the newspaper away from the children since just the clouds of smoke were enough to send them hiding in the house and not wanting us to leave.  Yesterday, the office staff in Springdale were talking about this fire.  One of the newer employees turned to Rick and asked if he had heard that this fire was started by someone burning weeds.  She went on to ask if he could believe that anyone would think it was safe to burn weeds on a day when the temperature was over 100 degrees and there was a wind.  He just shook his head and replied that yes he could believe it because on the same weekend two years ago, we had experienced the same thing.

Our original home

June 26, 2010

Our home today

I  have been a fan of The Motherload for a long time.  Sarah has made me laugh more times than I can name.  Today she wrote about lemons and lemonade.  Her take on the saying "When life gives you lemons make lemonade" was that sometimes the lemons are the blessing.  I know this is the way our family continues to feel.  The blessings we received as a result of that day two years ago are too numerous to count, and this knowledge is what helps us through those moments that come back to haunt us.

And it is those times that haunt, when we still have aftershocks, that make us hope and pray that no one else will have this experience the loss of their home due to fire.  This year, another family in our church congregation lost their home just before Christmas.  They are just starting to rebuild.  In northern Utah, over 40 homes have been destroyed by a single fire.  Everyday the news carries a report of a new fire being reported somewhere in the country.  The loss of a home is devastating.  It is a loss of the sense of security.

With the 4th of July and Pioneer Day celebrations ready to commence this week, please restrict your use of fireworks.  My family was overjoyed when our City's council voted to restrict fireworks to the park.  Most campgrounds in the area have banned any fire except for propane.  There are also many other fire restrictions in place throughout the State.  Here are a couple of links to see the restrictions:  (Southern Utah, and State of Utah) Please be careful, exercise caution and use common sense when it comes to the current dry conditions.  We know that we were lucky that we had insurance and were able to "recover" from our disaster, but we know that there are many others who would not be so fortunate.

By the way, Sarah Clark and her family are experiencing their own life test at the moment.  You can read about it here and if you feel you can help, please do.