Nearing the finish line.

Don’t let the title fool you, we are nearing the construction finish line only. After today, the house will be complete inside, with the excption of the kitchen which is on order and takes 6 to 8 weeks. I’m hoping we’ll be moved in and somewhat settled by Thanksgiving. (We also have to paint the entire interior)

The administrative piece of this adventure is still far from over. I tell people that i feel like I am playing the shell game. There is so much money moving all over the place and it’s like a great big puzzle figuring out how and when to put it all back where it came from, and from.

We have not received any insurance funds since the initial payment in January. Our Public Adjuster told us that it would take 6 to 9 months to get through the mediation/negotiation process. The end of month 9 is October 31st.

We have borrowed and incurred debt to get the house done and pray that FIGA doesn’t let us down in the end. (FIGA is the entity that is handling claims for our now bankrupt insurance company)

I have put in a call to schedule an inspection that will hopefully get the remainer of that initialy payment in our account instead of with our mortgage holder.

Just for grins and giggles, here’s the math on that initial payment:

$76,000 sent to us and to mortgage holder. $40,000 sent to us. $36,000 STILL sitting with mortgage holder. (The new mortgage holder, because can you believe that in the middle of all of this our mortage was sold?)

I’ve had a couple of really down days in this homestretch, which I found interesting because we have come so far, through so much muck. The thing I keep telling myself, is that every speedbump is manageable.

The people I have spoken with at the IRS have been so pleasant and helpful. The SBA have been amazing. Not every little thing that happens is the end of the world, you just need to take a deep breath, turn your thoughts to favorable, and move forward. Thoughts become things. If you make something out to be an insurmountable disaster, it’s going to take you for a disasterous ride. Don’t do that!

I think the hidden casualty with a natural disaster lies in the mental health of the population affected, and aside from private insurance and private practitioner care, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of help available.

I started this blog because I felt like resilience deserved a spot on the stage of natural disaster recovery. Though I have deeper plans for the blog than focusing on disaster recovery, I do hope to spend a lot of time (and writing) focusing on the things that make people strong, and that help them soldier through life in general.

If you have a story about resilience, I’d love to hear it.

Take a look at this video of our blank slate…ready for paint. I’ll continue to upload photos as the repairs progress.

Thoughtfully,

Marie