Where Do I Begin??

DAY ONE---still friday May 21st.

Its about 7 or 7:30 a.m. and I couldn't sleep anymore because I knew I needed to make some phone calls. Thankfully my cell was partially charged. I called family members and  asked them to call others. I called my work place to let someone know what had happened and that I wouldn't be in at my scheduled time which was 1, but  I would be in for the evening. My boss text me later that morning to let me know if there was anything he could do to let him know,  plus another manager called and said I didn't have to come in at all if I wasn't up to it. I insisted on working the evening cause I really didn't know what  else to do since it was the beginning of the long weekend (Victoria Weekend).  Plus it was the busy time of the year at CT. Around the time I was making phone calls Helen was up and starting her day of duties. A different day of duties for her something that definitely wasn't on her list of to do things. Since I had left the apartment so quickly in just my nightgown & housecoat during the night I wasn't about to go out in my night attire back to the apartment in daylight. I really appreciated Helen's leg work for me that morning until I felt presentable enough to go out. Several people in the immediate neighbourhood went to the apartment to supply some food & beverages for the firefighters since they were there till noon or later. Most of the firefighters were probably at the apartment  fighting the fire for 10 or more hours.  On one of Helen's trips to the apartment the apartment manager asked if she would ask me if there was anything I needed immediately from the apartment like meds etc. The fire commissioner would go into the apartment to get the items if possible. I drew a layout of my bedroom where the items were that I wanted like a safe, passport (which was on my dresser under some papers, should have been in the safe) and my cell phone charger. When those items were retrieved the fire commisioner also grabbed my camera & case in passing thinking I might want it as well. I was thankful for his thoughtful act. Blessing #1 my passport was untouched by the fire (THANK YOU LORD). My cell phone charger had a smoky smell, but it wasn't damaged by the heat of the fire and the same applied to my camera. Glad I had the camera & case in the bedroom and not in the living room.
After Helen had purchased some clothes for me I took a shower and felt ready for the most part to venture out & take a look at the apartment. A sight I knew would be painful, but I needed to go to confirm my thoughts. When I got to the apartment the firefighters were sitting on the front lawn taking a much needed break and they were quite the sight. My apartment manager was still there and she gave me a much needed hug. As I stood there looking up at the BIG, BLACK gaping hole at what was my suite my emotions almost got the best of me. Another neighbour lady was at the apartment and gave me some names & phone numbers for possible rental buildings. Now that I had seen the damage from the outside I needed to move on and find another place.
Shortly after lunch my son & daughter-in-law (Diedrich & Judy) with their 2 children came into town to take a look and said we could stay at their place until I found a place. As I'm waiting on the sidewalk for them to show up I literally felt like a homeless person.
My next stop was to buy some shoes for work since I couldn't wear my open toed sandals. After purchasing my shoes I drove to Winkler to Friesen Insurance to report & file a fire claim. I was very glad to have fire insurance. The clerk at Friesen's told me that an insurance adjudicator would be in touch with me and that's all she said. I was a little upset that she didn't offer any other suggestions as to what else to do.

As I was doing my errands before work Ruby was with friends. It was a school skip day for Ruby, but she still went to school in the morning to give them a report. The teachers were very good to her and helped with assignments that were lost in the fire. Ruby's friends also took her shopping and supplied some clothes.

So after reporting my fire claim I went to Superstore to buy a few items. As I step into the store I'm just looking around thinking where do I begin?? I know I need to start all over, but what & where do I start.
Needless to say I bought very little during that first stop at the store. There would be many more shopping days ahead.
As I'm at work getting ready to begin my evening shift several co-workers give their regards and ask how I'm doing & what do I need. A uniform shirt was put out for me & it was the last one in my size.  One of the many questions from the female co-workers was "what about Ruby's grad dress?" That I guess was another blessing, Ruby's grad dress was at the seamstress for alterations, but her shoes & purse were lost in the fire.

As the work evening progressed I was kept busy which was good. For the most part I kept my emotions in check during work until a former co-worker and his wife came in and offered some assistance.
Then around 8 p.m. the events of the long night & day were starting to take their toll on me. The general manager noticed I was starting to look very tired so he allowed me to leave work before closing plus I had a back up customer service cashier that evening.
So before going to Diedrich & Judy's in Roland  for the night I needed to go back to Morden to pick Ruby up. During the day Diedrich had also borrowed some beds and set them up in his daughter's room so we had something to sleep on. At that time we had no idea how long we would need to stay at their place.
 Meanwhile the insurance adjudicator had called my cell, but I missed the call due to work and I didn't know the number that he'd be calling from.
As we get settled in at Diedrich & Judy's bedtime definitely was before midnight that night.
I was thankful to be able to stay with family, it made the stay more comfortable.
So to close the day there were things to be thankful for; glad all the tenants got out safely, for caring people and for the few items that were retrieved from the apartment.
Time to give my mind & body a rest. Goodnight.