thinking of the things I wanted to save

The past week was impossible to bear; Monday morning started with a relatively small fire near my home, the smoke could be seen from my front porch, the smell was very strong and I started thinking about what's going to happen when I’ll be ordered to leave my home.

I was walking around my house, restless, I couldn't do anything useful besides thinking of the things I want to save.

The emergency authorities said there is nothing to worry about at the moment, planes were flying around us. It took a full day for that fire to be put out and that night we went to sleep calmly.

Little did I know, that it won’t last for long. Last Thursday I was terrified. Just before noon I was listening to the radio and I heard that a huge fire has started, only a 15 minute drive from my home.

What does that mean? Do I have to pack? Do I have to think about leaving the house? Again?! What do i take first? The firefighting service declared it as the biggest fire in Israel's history, I decided to pack : My kids, a few albums, my laptop & camera. DH found the perfect timing to be in Los Angeles on a business trip; We all drove to my mother's house, I felt like I have a huge rock on my chest, and all I wanted was to make this disaster go away.

The following days were so awful: roughly 17,000 people were evacuated from their homes. The 82-hour fire claimed the lives of 42 people, burnt dozens of homes, destroyed thousands of acres of land, and raised many difficult questions.

These days left me thinking about the power of nature. I am sure some of you have heard or experienced similar wild fires in your country.... If it wasn't for the great international help we got from so many countries, I am not sure I would be writing this post from my home. I wish I could thank every single nation that helped in this effort. I am sure that when the time comes Israel will be there to help others. Fortunately, nobody thinks about politics when human lives are involved.

So, thank you for being here, reading my post, I really needed to share this, I couldn't ignore everything around me and go on 'business as usual'.

Just before the fire started, I was about to publish a post about a big giveaway I’m having for my 1st anniversary of polypediaonline, but it felt wrong without saying a few words about my personal feelings.

In a few days when life will return to normal, I’ll go live with my planned giveaway, See you soon.