Hurricane Recovery

I ended up taking half a day off work yesterday to be home while the cottage foundation repair work was going on.  I felt a bit nervous about it--what if they had questions that I couldn't answer?  What if something dreadful happened?  In the end, it was fine.

Is our cottage foundation now more secure?  I assume so, but how would I know?  As I said before the final inspection, "You know, if you had showed up to mow my yard, I'd know how to evaluate your work."  They had drilled holes around the edge of the cottage on the inside, put a nozzle down the holes, filled the empty space with a foam that will harden and be waterproof, and filled the holes with concrete.  They even cleaned up the dust. 

My spouse worried that they might not show up at all.  He worried it might be a massive scam--after all, it's not too hard to hire pleasant people to talk on the phone and to manufacture some web sites that attest to your competence. 

The worker said that they had piped in more foam than they had anticipated.  So I'm assuming that we did have a problem that has now been solved.

As they worked in the cottage, I got a lot of grading done.  I had thought that I might get them started, go to work, and then come back, but the job ended up not taking as long as I thought it might.  It made more sense to stay home.

After they left, I applied online for a loan from the Small Business Administration.  You might ask, "You have a small business?"  No, but  I got notice from FEMA that we weren't eligible for disaster assistance because we have insurance, but we could apply for a loan from the SBA, which is how the U.S. Government loans citizens money for disaster recovery.  We'll see what the terms are and if we even need the money--but the deadline is upon us, so I went ahead and applied.

I have noticed this tendency in myself in past disasters, so I want to record it, in part so that I remember, and in part, in case it helps others.  After the disaster, I tend to shut down a bit--in some cases, completely.  I have trouble making decisions or even deciding on an approach.  And then, I come out of the disaster fog.

I'm still a bit overwhelmed by all that needs to be done. But I'm happy to be feeling more capable of doing it.