The silence before the storm . . .

For a long time nothing happened . . .September I went back to my St Maarten life. Life rolled on in its normal tracks. No noteworthy events. October however heralded more unpleasant events. First a nasty sinus infection then hurricane Omar came to disturb our lives.

As I was house sitting for my neighbor I tucked in with her kitties after a hectic day of hurricane preparation. I did not need to do much more than close her and my shutters, collect spare water in containers and do some emergency provisioning. So I spent most of the day helping friends. But by the evening, all hatches battened down, the kitties where huddled as close as possible to me. Lulu decided to curl up on my chest. The rest where in close proximity. I am not sure who got more comfort from whom as the rain lashed against the windows and ominous howling winds relentlessly blew. Darkness naturally added to the sense of doom and gloom. I was very aware of being alone - and thankful for the warm bodies curled up against me. Hurricanes I thought, was no fun to go through alone.

By the early morning hours the sounds became less threatening. At 7 am I peeked outside hesitantly. It seemed much calmer and the rain had stopped so I ventured to the beach. All around me people looked equally dazed. Thundering waves crashed over where the beach used to be. Within hours the sea receded and calmed down - and someone who did not see it earlier would have thought a description of the waves where tall tales. Except for the evidence left. Later, I saw to shipping containers washed straight across the road. And heard the harrowing tale of the mini tornado that passed over the lagoon. A catamaran overturned with a couple in it.
They managed to open a sliding door and swim out. A nearby sailor saw them clinging to the boat and went to rescue them by dinghy. Another catamaran described how a heavy table, chairs, and toolboxes where sucked right out of the cockpit without leaving a scratch on the boat.

However, as we all counted our toes and fingers as an island, we realized that God certainly protected us and spared us. There where no deaths or serious injury. And while there was damage, there was not devastation. We breathed a communal sigh of relief and everybody started cleaning up around them. A few days later it was not even obvious there had been a hurricane.

My life started getting back into its normal rhythms. But a week later I had the tel tale rash and high fever. After the hurricane we had hordes of mosquitoes. I had Dengue fever. Through a night of high fever I truly felt the power of prayers for me from near and far. I recovered remarkably quickly but was left feeling week.

By November my energy returned, and slowly slowly work was picking up again. Once again I was comfortably in my predictable routine. However throughout these months I had the knowledge that major change lay ahead. I had been offered a position on the mega yacht I helped out on, and said yes. My new job was due to start in the New Year, as soon as the boat returned to St Maarten after a major shipyard period. This meant I would be giving up my apartment, moving into a tiny cabin, and a few months later leave St Maarten. So while on the surface it was just mundane life as always, I was slowly preparing for this drastic change. These months where the silence before a new storm of change. Gypsy girl is about to get on the move again . . .