Whew! That was close!

You know, you never expect for things like this to happen to you. No matter how big of a threat there is-- it just never seems like it's going to be your emergency, until it is.

A week ago today most of our city was battling brush fires-- about three miles south east of us it was a raging inferno and we were sitting right here watching it on the news, calling our friends who's homes were in danger, and offering assistance. We were sitting pretty, upwind of the blazes, and not worried a bit for our own possessions and lives.

Then, out of nowhere, I look out the livingroom window and there's smoke in our backyard. Hubby jumped up and ran outside to discover a new fire started about 4 streets west of us and moving our way fast. I can't even begin to tell you the entire sequence of fortunate events that occurred that day, and most of it is still a big blur, but someone was looking out for us.

As he turned on ever sprinkler we had and began hosing down the roof, I ran around inside, trying to gather important paperwork and throw a change or two of clothes together for us, knowing we only had minutes to get out.

I'll spare you the panic and the chaos of trying to keep calm and brave in front of the kids while being eaten away by total panic inside. But we managed to throw a few things in the car, load up the dogs and the two cats we could catch, and we pulled out of the driveway as the flames crossed the canal and began burning our street.

I'll never forget sitting there, less than a block away, stuck in traffic with the smoke billowing up in the rear-view mirror, sickly knowing that the black smoke was our house and everything we owned burning up. And while it hurt, I didn't lose sight of all rationality. I had my pets, my family, and honestly, nothing else really mattered. It was a sick sort of calm.

We got the animals to the kennel and went to sit anxiously at the inlaws, with no local tv, no radio, and no way of knowing how bad things were.

Sometime around midnight, after J was asleep, we decided to try and get back to survey the damage.

The neighborhood was a warzone of smoke, still burning fires, and chaos. But there in the bend of the road, amidst the cinders and smoldering woods, was our house, still standing, and untouched!

Our next door neighbors were our angels that night-- refusing to leave. And when the fire trucks ran out of water, they carried on, hooking the well pumps up to their generator and battling the hotspots with garden hoses.

They saved our home and theirs, and there's no way in the world I could ever repay them for such bravery and selflessness.

Things are slowly getting back to normal for us, but for so many folks around us, normal is gone. It's a charred wasteland surrounding us, dotted with eerily untouched homes. It almost makes you feel guilty to be so lucky.