Jersey Strong

 

I’ve heard the weather forecasters say “this storm is the storm to end all storms!!!” pretty much every single hurricane season. So when I heard the grim (again) news about Sandy, the ‘Frankenstorm,’ a couple weeks ago I didn’t really believe it would be as bad as predicted.

Fast forward to Sunday, October 28th. My boyfriend went to Abu Dhabi for business the day the storm hit in the US. There was a sandstorm that hit AD for the better part of that afternoon while he was there. I joked around with some coworkers that it must actually be as bad as predicted since us East Coasters can’t seem to escape Sandy’s wrath even half way across the globe.

I probably wouldn’t have been joking around had I knew what was actually going on. The pictures, especially of the Jersey Shore, are incredible (in the bad, monumental, sad way). My family in New Jersey has had no power for 8 days. Check out this photo my mom put on Facebook – people are even pitching in all the way from Georgia:

thanks for helping my family out, ATL

 

Here’s another picture my mom took in the days following the storm, this one taken of a house up the street:

up the road from my humble abode – hoping all are safe

The pictures from the shore are just as incredible. I used to love going to the boardwalk with my cousins and brothers every summer, eating ice cream and going on the rides.

It’s insane to me that it’s changed forever, but I guess it makes those fond memories that much sweeter.

Hoping for a speedy recovery and rebuilding, and thankful all my friends and family are safe <3 Thanks to timeless songs from the Boss and Bon Jovi, some nasal, spoiled, bored housewives and some way-too-tan binge drinkers who happen to find themselves on reality TV, the world knows how tough and no bull-shit we are as a whole, so I have no doubt NJ will rise up and rebuild in no time. But for those of you who can, helping in any way can go a long way. To donate you can visit www.redcross.org, call 800-Red-Cross or text the word “Redcross” to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Every little bit counts.

Which reminds me, tomorrow…GO VOTE.