In the Path of the Hurricane

As some of you know, I live in the Caribbean. The Dominican Republic to be exact. And while the island’s beauty is delightful, it has its downsides too. We have to pay a yearly price to live in paradise.

Each year, the hurricane season starts on June 1 and extends to November 30. Needless to say, we are in the direct path of tropical depressions, storms, and hurricanes. Sometimes they could impact directly, or they could just pass by if they feel like it. A visit a year doesn’t hurt anyone, right? Or they could fade away as well, leaving the population scared, but prepared. It is better to be safe than sorry.

At times though, with high probability, at least one of these phenomena will impact directly or indirectly the island. Is not all paradise and sunshine once you have this fact cleared out. Although most of the year the weather is “nice” hot and humid and beautiful and paradisiac, each passing year we need to have a contingency plan. Just in case.

You see, hurricanes and these kinds of natural disasters, love to reach their peak in September. They are here, religiously, as if following a script. This year of course there wasn’t going to be any exceptions. I write this while Fiona is outside pouring its fury over the island.

And while I’m kind of fascinated by hurricanes, I’m also scared. My mom and I live apart most of the year, so these are the times when I wish she was here.

I used to be so scared of rainfall, specifically thunderstorms. I remember the cause vividly: my cousin. One afternoon it was raining like crazy. My mom had not returned from work, my father was home, and my cousin was too. It was raining aggressively and I was kind of scared that something could happen to my mother. The thunders were like bombs detonating all over the city. I was fidgety crossing the apartment and asking my father every minute if mom would be home soon. Pa’ told me to stay calm, “she’s fine and it’s just a little very needed rain”.

I don’t know what got into him but he decided to please his inner child and go take a shower in the rain. I was puzzled. Pa’ left me in the apartment with my cousin, it was thundering and I was crying. Not only I was scared of Mami, but also Pa’ had added another worry. Concerned that my Pa’ would get hit by a ray because my lovely grandmother always told me when I was little, that the human body attracts lightning. Yes, thank you grandma for planting the seeds of fear at a very young age in me ಥ_ಥ.

Well, where was I? Oh yeah, my Pa’ in the moment of his life, my cousin instilling in me a greater sense of dread. He told me, and I quote: “Did you know when lightning strikes near people’s ears start to bleed?” I lost my mind. My Pa was outside and could be hit, God knows what else because he had a metallic valve on his heart.

I was crying so hard that I went outside to the balcony and asked Pa’ to come inside. Once he was at home, safe, I called my Mami to work and told her she could bleed from her ears, but I was convinced that if she arrived home, everything would be fine. Meanwhile, my cousin was enjoying himself. Amused with my agony. For the next couple of years I was traumatized, and whenever it rained and I was at school I had a panic attack, call home for one of my parents to pick me up, and so on. Until I grew up.

I know this little anecdote is a little deviated from the hurricane topic, I started rambling for some reason. Memories are that treacherous. Come and go as easy as the wind, whenever I’m trying to focus on a specific topic.

But concerning the hurricane, I hope everyone is fine in the Caribbean, I hope nobody has had to undergo a traumatic experience. Even though I’m grateful because I live in a relatively safe area, I still worry for those who don’t. I can’t do anything, but it is a burden I throw over my shoulders every time things like this happen.

What I do is try to enjoy the moody weather, by lighting candles, reading, and just like the rain, pouring my thoughts into paper.

List of things to do when your mind is overburdened:

1. Be grateful. I know it sounds cliche, but it brings a sense of peace to reflect on the things that you already have and what you can do.

2. Journaling. It helps empty your brain of worrisome thoughts.

3. Read.

4. Do something that brings you joy.

5. Don't scroll unnecessarily on social media.