After the Storm, Come the Torments

"Despues de la tormenta, vienen los tormentos", that is what my mother says.  "After the storm, come the torments".  She got that saying from her mother, who endured many hurricanes before this one, Maria, hit Puerto Rico.  I suppose that this saying goes back many generations in my family, and it is true now more than ever.  
Maybe the time has come to add a new saying to my family's repertoire: "Cuando lo pierdes todo, empieza como si nunca lo hubieses tenido."  "When you lose everything, restart as if you never had anything." 
People ask me how is my family surviving.  Their resilience comes mainly from three things:
First, my family is close.  They are physically close, most live less than an hour from each other.  And they are emotionally close.  My aunts, uncles, cousins, all get together often.  So, those who have lost or damaged houses are doubled up with sisters, uncles, or cousins.  They are sharing food, shelter, water, and everything they have with each other, with their neighbors, and with their community. 

Read More >