Reminders from Melissa
Written by Leanne Rodine, Spring Sealant Program Co-Director and GS!I volunteer of 21 years
Liz and I appreciating that Melissa was over (photo from Tom Saller)
While being in a category 5 hurricane has never been on my ‘bucket list’ and not even entered my mind as a possibility, it is something I can say that I have done. Certainly grateful to be on the other side of it, and as a person who tries to reflect and learn from each situation in life, I realize Melissa reminded me of some things:
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Prepare – It is always good to prepare for things, whether it is studying for an exam, gathering all the instruments you need for a dental procedure before starting, thinking ahead about what you will say for an acceptance speech… so many things in life that it is great to prepare beforehand. With Melissa, we were amazingly prepared by the staff at Sandals South Coast. They monitored the reports of Melissa for several days prior, trying to determine if she was coming to the area. They talked to guests about early departures, if that was possible. Then for those of us who remained, they got us set up in rooms that they thought would be in the safest area of the resort and stocked us with food and water. They were so prepared and prepared us well.
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Enjoy the little things –Before Hurricane Melissa came we walked around and appreciated the flowers and the beautiful foliage, stuck our feet in the sand, watched all the birds and cats as they roamed… we appreciated the little things that can easily be taken for granted.
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Appreciate what you have – One of the many drastic differences I saw from before and after the hurricane, was the fact that many trees were no longer there in Jamaica and if they were, they had been stripped of their leaves. Jamaica is a beautiful country with generally lots of greenery, trees and plants.
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Appreciate the breaks – As Melissa got close to us, she howled and blew and was intense for about 2-3 hours on Tuesday morning. During the peak of the hurricane, we couldn’t see the horizon; everything looked grey. There was a lot of noise, between the howling winds and rains. And then, the sky brightened, the winds lessened and it got quieter – the eye of the storm was over us. It was serene and eerie at the same time; eerie because we knew that this was likely just a short-lived time of quiet. But while it was quiet we could really appreciate the blue eye that was showing in the sky. It was great that we took that pause, as Melissa started right back up about 20 minutes later.
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Hang in there – Prior to Melissa hitting, she was described as being one of the hardest to predict hurricanes. Forecasters shared that she was really slow moving and powerful, and that it was hard for them to estimate how long she would stay over Jamaica. We weren’t sure how long it would take for Melissa to come and go. There were estimates that it could be just a few minutes, to possibly even a couple of days. So, at some point, while Hurricane Melissa was moving over us I did question whether the storm would ever end. The eye came over us which gave us a break, and then after the eye passed, there was still a couple more hours of storm, but it seemed slightly less intense. We just took it moment by moment and eventually it was done!
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We are in this together – The Great Shape! team was amazing. We helped each other prepare going into the storm, stayed connected, and tried to make each other laugh and encourage each other, and then we celebrated together when it was all done. And I had the immense privilege of sharing a room with Liz Klaniecki, who is an absolute riot, and a very kind, caring soul. She made me laugh and kept me upbeat, but also was great to talk to as we shared moments of sadness or worry, especially when we weren’t able to communicate with our loved ones back home. While it wasn’t on my bucket list to be in a hurricane, if I had to be, I was lucky to be with Liz and the rest of the Great Shape! group that were there.
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Things can be different outside – After Melissa was done, we were transported to Beaches Negril. I was part of the group that was transported on Friday morning and was both grateful and saddened by going in daylight hours. Nothing could have prepared me to see the devastation out in the community. We drove down roads that were hardly passable, saw trees destroyed, powerlines down, houses flattened and flooded, debris from building everywhere. I choked back tears a few times on the drive to Negril, as it was hard to imagine how the people were feeling or what they would do. But I was also grateful that I got to see it, as I don’t want to be oblivious to what happened. I am grateful to have seen what I did – while it broke my heart to see it, it makes me want to continue to do all I can to help in Jamaica.