Rock-A-Thon: Moving Home Safely

Hey Everybody, Danielle and I wanted to share a comprehensive update on life since things got turned upside down on September 13, 2022. On that Tuesday morning, I was at my office as is typical, and settling into the work day. It's about 10:30 am, my phone rings and I see it's Danielle. Alex, Danielle's little sister, had come to visit us for the weekend and was set to depart that morning back to her home. I figured they had said their goodbyes and Danielle was calling to check in. My assumption was very wrong and disaster had literally struck our home. I could barely understand her but I heard Danielle, screaming through the phone, that there was an accident at the house and she didn't know where the pets were. I have never heard raw panic like that from anyone, let alone my wife, who was supposed to be safe at home. I flew out the door and raced home. There had been a 2 vehicle accident, which can be common in this intersection near our home. This time, though, one vehicle ran a red light, hit another car, and caused that other car to veer into our home. That veer led them through our front yard between two of three small but established oak trees. They drove through the front yard wooden fence and directly through the living room wall and window as Danielle and Alex sat on the couch in that very living room. The path of the vehicle brought it through the living room and into the dining room table and chairs, colliding with kitchen counters as well, sending that piece of granite across the kitchen into the stove. The vehicle came to rest protruding through the back wall of the home out to the side view mirrors. It had struck the Weber BBQ grill on the back of the home, rupturing that propane tank and starting a small fire inside the grill. The accident sheered the natural gas meter at the front of the home, and Danielle recalls the heavy sulphuric smell as they ran out of the house. Due to the nature of the gas leak, there was an instantaneous and powerful Emergency Response reaction. Fire crews and others were on-scene when I arrived. I learned quickly that the pets were in the neighbor's yard and that a stranger had managed to corral our cat into her vehicle. I looked over the neighbor's fence to see what had happened from the backside and was chased off by the Fire crews there to protect us. In a surreal few moments, I retrieved our cat, Kobi, from under the driver's seat of the samaritan’s vehicle, and got him into the neighbor’s bathroom while we concentrated on what to do immediately next. Flashing forward, we have a significant insurance claim underway. First, there was asbestos remediation. Then, it was a slow and difficult process to get the rebuild sorted out through insurance. Now, we’ve made it through supply chain delays, insurance, and contractor response times. We are about to begin the rebuilding work in earnest. We’ve thought through many different strategies, including trying to move homes. After it all, we keep coming back to the feeling that we love our home and it suits our family very well. We want to continue to create new memories and raise our son there. If there is a way we can mitigate the clear risk inherent with a corner home on a busy street, we feel that we can embrace our home again and live in comfort and safety together. We want to be able to invite friends and family to gather under our roof. We don’t want to be preoccupied in those moments, concerned about safety. We want to be a family there together again. In order to achieve our goals of improved property safety, we have hired a local landscaping company to elevate the aesthetics of our “outside the fence” corner and place 2 dozen large landscaping boulders throughout the corner area. We are planning to add a few more trees and shrubs to fill out the area and soften the boulders, along with mulch to fill in the gaps. Finally, we will be adding a crushed medium pathway from the intersection along our street to the driveway, providing slightly improved “walkability” for us, our neighbors, and pedestrians. The goal is to have a look that is attractive, but most importantly, elevate the safety within the fenced areas and home. We have made the commitment to invest in our home and feel that this is our best way to accommodate the circumstances of our property. But…we were hoping that we could ask for a little help. On a recent evening, after putting Leo to bed, we were reviewing all of the things we have going on right now with insurance and work and obviously, finances came up. We were going through how we plan to pay for this landscaping project, and the lightbulb came on. Many people have asked us how they can help with things along the way and we try pretty hard to be self-sufficient. But here’s what we came up with so far. Boulders aren't cheap and our insurance will not be helping with any kind of additional safety around our home. We are looking forward to moving home, but we want to feel as safe as possible. In our minds, this project can become more meaningful and healing by asking for your assistance. We're asking for help with paying for this landscaping project so we can enjoy many safe and comfortable years in our home. Once the boulders are in place, we wanted to have a hand-print rock painting day with Leo. If you can chip in to assist us with our project, we’ll ask Leo to make a special handprint on a rock that we can dedicate to your contribution. No amount is too small, and we don’t have a final goal in mind yet. But we would like to reach out and let you all know that if there is a way you want to help, this will make the most meaningful impact. We are grateful for the support everyone has shown so far, and even if you can’t donate to our efforts, please leave a positive and motivational comment to keep the vibes going strong!