flipflop_diva

I was really surprised by how much it built a relatable connection to your mom when you wrote the part about them drinking in the hot tub and going in out of, I presume, annoyance. That they went to bed and didn't really find out until the morning is one of those things you realise happen all the time. I think we think about experiencing a disaster as something people are actively aware of, but the reality really is that it hardly feels real at the time because it was just so... normal a second before! Just that part in general really took it from an outside view of a story of the fires to really being able to see the real human part in your writing. And, getting us set up that way before you go into talking about having to make sudden choices about life memories... that made that part hit. I've read writing about people being in a fire and having to make choices and seeming emotional, but I'll be honest, I haven't usually understood. I usually just think, 'geez, why are they so upset? it's just stuff. I mean maybe the pictures would suck to lose, but like, it's just things.' but being in the empathetic headspace before I got to that section made it really hit home how unsettling and disempowering the situation would feel. And how many things there really are that are more than just 'things' for one reason or another in a very big way.

I think I'll be listening to people talk about fire loss pretty differently now. And I'll also be making a list of emergency grabs for Just In Case!