Day 4 – Jan 3 2022

Blessed again by the never-ending love of Lauren, we had the morning to get some things in order while she played with the (now very whiny) kids.

Being the first semi-business day after the holiday weekend, we made some logistics progress.

Medium-term Housing (6-18months) – The previously mentioned property (owned by our landlord from August 2020) was approved by our insurance adjuster! We are planning to go see it on Thursday, and if it’s not a secret meth den, we are taking it. Properties are being snatched up within minutes, but our landlord has committed to saving the property for us until Thursday.

Slack Update – With everyone back from work from the holiday, Kate’s manager shared the news with the rest of the Slack team. There has been an outpouring of love and support, and Kate feels so blessed to work at a company with such caring colleagues and overall amazing culture. It seems Kate is the only Slack employee impacted, and that 2 other Salesforce (the parent company) employees also lost their homes.

Buying and Organizing the stuff – We have received so many items from friends, and friends of friends. Especially stuff for the kids! We are basically 100% set on clothes, toys and books for the kids thanks to the generosity of complete strangers and close friends alike. We also have had to buy things like cat bowls, scissors, and step stools to Avery can reach the sink. So we spent much of the morning organizing our lists and doing inventory of what we have, what we need, and ordering all the stuff.

Here’s a peek at the raw morning situation including donated gifts, lots of Amazon deliveries, and bags from our Target and Walmart runs:

Later in the evening, Kate went through everything that’s been gifted, opened all the boxes, and started to get things organized. By the end of the night, it looks like:

Therapy – Kate had a great first post-trauma appointment with her therapist. The focus for her is to get some sleep, and utilize a few other key tools and tricks to keep her mental health in check during this crazy time. We’re going to get Nick support as well, and will be focusing on our mental health throughout this journey.

Errands – Being jealous that Nick got to see the house up close, Kate gave it a try — but got denied by police. She instead went to the post office to pick up our mail, and stopped by the Primrose school. The staff were amazing (as always) and got new backpacks for the kids and loaded us up with more Covid tests. Then — she got a new drivers license, which will have the world’s WORST photo. What better time to take your ID photo than 4 days after your house burns down, when you haven’t slept since it happened.

Car Claim – While Kate was running around, Nick was completing the claim for the Volkswagen. And, while the car is 10 years old, and has years of little damage everywhere, we got more than the max value for an “excellent” condition version of the car. We still have to deliver the title and keys, and the company will need to take possession of the car (good luck with that!) before we get the funds, but at least the process is well underway.

We spent some time in the evening just playing with the kids, watching TV, and eating dinner, and then got to work on the never-ending task of trying to remember and make sense of all the details of Dec 30-31. It’s coming together, but still needs time.

We continue to be so touched by the love and support of our communities, and are forever grateful for all everyone is doing for us right now. ❤️