I thought I was emotionally strong. I was a probation officer before sales. But this experience is intense. This experience gave me a deep sense of gratitude. I've always been grateful, but now it's at a higher level. My key takeaway from the experience is that one of these natural disasters can cause you to lose anything, any time. Prepare yourself. Prepare your family. Have a container with your most important documents. Put them in a fire safe. So many people lost birth certificates, social security cards and passports. I met so many families that were in the shelter waiting for documentation.
My best memory was joy on a family's faces when they were leaving – I'd help them gather their things, and they'd gotten housing and were leaving. Brought tears to my eyes. One thing I will never forget was a resident of the shelter who turned his clothes in to the laundry they had in the shelter. The laundry lost his clothes. This poor man only had the clothes on his back. Literally, that was all he had, and then he had nothing. I saw the sadness in his face. I saw a Goodwill across the street. I went there and bought him extra clothes. To see his appreciation meant everything. The experience changed me forever. One of the first things I am going to it is to join the local Red Cross shelter here.