When my home phone rang at 3:00AM the other night, I was not amused in the least. I assumed that someone had the wrong number, and I really did not appreciate being woken up. It is rare that anyone calls that number, and I wondered who it could be. It turned out to be the fire department calling to tell me that at my business fire damage was very extensive, and I should get dressed up and come meet them at my business location immediately. Definitely not someone calling the wrong number, but my earlier irritation had quickly been replaced with me wishing that I could go back to only being irritated about a stranger calling my number by accident.
I wish I could say that I just threw my clothes on and was able to get out the door immediately after getting that phone call. I felt as if I was in shock. I felt like I had cement in my shoes and cotton in my brain. I had been through enough as it was in the past couple of years, and kept wondering what I had done to deserve the never ending issues that were presenting themselves in my life. I just wanted a break just like so many other people get in life. It took me about 30 minutes to get dressed, grab a bite to eat and make some quick coffee to drink so that I could feel more alert.
When I got to my business, I learned that quite a bit of it had been damaged. Firefighters did not allow me to go in because they said that it was not safe for me to do so, even though they had fully put the fire out. They said that there had been some ceiling beams that had been exposed. So, I had another company come in to help the damage and do clean up for me.