I can say with all honesty that I have had better mornings. A sleepless night (toothache from Hell) followed by a 4:30 am wake up to take Rob to the airport equals a good old fashioned grouchy morning. It's still dark, and my body is playing tug of war between the car and the bed. The car wins, and off we go to the airport. Rob and I, we are not morning people, are yawning and whining about the early hour when see the typically dark road all lit up ahead. As we get closer we see that a house is on fire. We stop the car and we both run towards the house. Rob kicks the door in and begins screaming, "Hello, hello!! Is anyone in there." I'm frantically screaming and banging on the windows and doors of the neighbors houses. The fire is starting to spread to the trees, their houses will be next. I run back to the blazing house screaming, "Rob it's too far gone please don't go in!" There is truly nothing we can do. The fire has taken it over and even if anyone was in there, we could not save them at this point. I wake one set of neighbors, and they tell me that there isn't anyone home in the burning house. I hope to God they are right, and the absence of cars seems to confirm it. Even though I'm pretty sure they aren't home I continue to try and wake the neighbors to the right, when a truck pulls up. Rob tells them the fire department is on the way, and we ask if they could stay until they make it there. We had no choice but to leave, Rob had to be on a plane in less than 15 minutes which means the flight was already going to be delayed at this point. While Rob is giving our information to the two men in case anyone needed to talk to us, I stand there and watch someone's home become completely engulfed in flames. It was one of the most horrible things I have ever witnessed in my life. The men promise to keep trying the house on the right just in case they might be home, until the fire department arrives. We get in our car reeking of smoke, Rob starts the engine, and I watch the flames rise up to the sky as we pull away. Thankfully, the fire department arrives just as we are leaving and eases the pang of guilt I feel for not staying. We wouldn't have left if those men had not shown up, you can believe that. Even as I type this, I am still shaking. Go hug your kids, your cat, your dog, your significant other, heck go hug your house and be thankful. I have to take a shower. I have to get this smoke off of me...
**Update**
One of the owners of the home called Rob today to thank him for breaking in the door. They had a cat in the home, and so far they have not found it in what's left of the house. They think that it was able to get out of the living room after he kicked the door in. Let's hope that this is true and also be thankful for the fact that both owners are completely unharmed. They own a campground and decided to stay there over night. I have no doubt that decision saved their lives! I drove by the house this afternoon, and it was completely destroyed by the fire. The neighbors' homes were untouched by the fire! That makes me very happy. Rob said that they want to meet us in person, so that they can shake our hands. I can finally relax knowing that no one was killed. Let's keep our fingers crossed for the poor kitty.
PS. Thank you for the wonderful comments. Hugs to you all!
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