Ike evacuation

Well, The Wednesday morning before Ike hit, Ike was a level 3 hurricane, but it was headed to Corpus Christi. Corpus is 5 hours from here so there was no need to evacuate. I went to work that day and then by that evening, it was predicted to be a level 4 and headed just south of Galveston.

Alot of our friends sat around contemplating whether to evacuate or not. Our family plan that states that if there is a hurricane that is a level 3 or higher and headed towards Houston/ Galveston, we evacuate. It made our decision easy. We packed that night planning to leave the next morning if predictions didn't change. I called my mom and a few close connections letting them know of our plans. We left the next morning.

We were planning on staying with a close friend in Austin. My mom called my Aunt DiDi and she offered us to stay with her. I can't tell you how grateful we were for her generosity. Her home was comfortable. But more than that she and Aunt Sherry were just genuinely warm to our little boy!!! He can be a little loud, but they just didn't notice. They were nothing but complementary about him and I am grateful. He's right at that age, where it's easy to criticize him for being developmentally exactly what he should be- an active and talkative little boy. We interacted with a couple of people that long evacuation weekend who had never had children and who weren't so accepting. It was challenging for me to not feel frustrated with them for their ridiculous philosophies about children---"Sit down, shut up (don't make noise), don't get dirty, don't touch any thing, and don't ask me play with you." It meant the world to me that they found him to be exactly what he is.... a delightful, happy, active little boy. They really made their home a comfortable and safe place for us and our little one.

In fact, I was REALLY impressed with Ian. He tolerated the whole experience very well. He was really quite a trooper and seemed to enjoy the different people and places he got to be and see in this new world. He had a lot of fun. He clearly had grown from his infant years of absolutely ZERO patience. All he wanted was "food" and "go" and stopping at a stoplight did NOT constitute going. He would scream the entire time until the car started going again. Breast feeding was tough for all of the screaming.. he would back off to take a breath and then scream because the food went away. I enjoyed him then, but am certainly grateful for the increased flexibility and patience. He has developed into quite an adaptable and enjoyable little boy!