Waiting Is: I Grok (or not)

Of course losing our lovely retirement home in the lava flow has been devastating. And in the midst of this loss we are blessed to be finding the "diamonds" that Lunel's dream envisioned while she was in the ICU, what seems a long time ago, but was only May 2nd -- only hours before the lost of our home by fire, and a few days later, by lava.

It has now been over a month since we filed our insurance claim and this waiting to hear is only contributing to our anxiety. Perhaps you never realize what PTSD is until you personally experience it; drugs like Valium help the rage or anxiety, Prozak helps with the severe depression -- but WAITING and WAITING is the hardest part.

We so appreciate the kindness we have been afforded by staying with a lovely family. Yes, the loss of our dog, Reba, was another hard reality to face. And, we know that she is in her original home where she will be loved and cared for -- another blessing and relief. Of course many people, some of whom we don't even know personally, have contributed to the Go-Fund-Me account that was set up for us by Astra at Many Hands Gallery in Eureka. Others donated through Amazon or Home Depot -- most of which has been used to purchase wood-working tools for Phil.

Our gracious host in our temporary home has set up a space for Phil to continue "making sawdust" that is a way for him to process the loss of the amazing wood shop we had built, and the people we bought koa wood from donated a lovely stack of wood he will use to continue making fish for the gallery he sells through.

Lunel continues to process her grief through her art in a new journal -- a few pages of which are here, and through some reading. She is also writing short pieces about her internal process and the magnitude of such a loss. The dogs are constantly by her side and now that there are only three there is less stress and more comfort.

Some people have asked about insurance. Well, yes, we had insurance but it appears that there was a "Lava Exclusion" on about page 47 or so of 50 pages. We have submitted a claim however, and now all we can do is wait. Actually, we should have heard from insurance company by now.

In the meantime, life goes on -- Lunel is getting therapy to help with anxiety/depression etc., all associated with PTSD. Her cataract surgery, that had been postponed due to the seizure/coma incident has been rescheduled which will be very helpful as her contacts and bifocals are now under 25 feet of cooling lava with everything else. Phil did good: He got the dogs and the computer, without which we would really feel isolated. We've lost all addresses, phone numbers and birthdays, but will have to let that go for now.

There is current state and county discussion about setting up a new sub-division for those of us who lost our primary residence, but, as with most government processes, it will take time and "due process." Until then:  "Waiting IS...."  We are fortunate that our mutual life-philosophies include the concepts that life is unpredictable, that nothing is certain, and that all we can be sure of is CHANGE. A quote from someplace: "It takes courage to be done with the old and to seek the new." We did that once, leaving Humboldt County, so it seems we still have something to learn.

For those following our blog -- maybe this is more than you wanted or needed to know, but for now it is our primary way of answering questions many people have asked -- it continues to be a challenge for us to repeat all of this information to individuals over the phone -- and we appreciate your understanding. Mahalo to everyone!

For those who want a brief overview of Haysmer's Famous Fissure #8 here's the latest Utube:
Lava News June 14