My bones are beginning to get it.
Last night an earthquake, 4.7 again but felt stronger (rumors are 4.9) really shook the house. At 1:35 am I was sound, sound asleep. I felt like I was some small ingredient in a frying pan being tossed or flipped–like a pancake, but many times, rapidly.
I ran to the door and my friends appeared to be calm in the tent so I sat with the nannies by the wide open door. When I went back to bed, it shook again, not as strong, but enough to get me out of bed, again. I slept a few hours at the foot of the nannies bed so we could all be together, listening to one of them try to call her little girl who was sleeping downtown, camped outside, with other family. She couldn’t call out and every time the phone ring, the call was dropped. We tried my phone, didn’t work. We are hoping the nannies will bring their children to the house so they can all sleep together, although they are also thinking about sending them to the provinces, where “the world doesn’t tremble.”
This is all anyone talks about today. I arrived to work just before 8 am. My door remains open, and in just over 90 minutes I have had 6 people come to talk with me. “Bon jou Amber, ou byen durmi? M pa durmi. M santi mem bagay chak fwa. M santi stress. M santi pe”.
Good morning Amber, did you sleep well? I did not sleep. I felt the same thing I felt before. I feel stress. I feel fear.
Fortunately, almost everyone is reporting that, while they still experience stress and fear, it is diminishing each time, their reactions are dampening. I explain this is good, I explain that we are wise when we can stay awake enough to run if we need to, but can rest a bit, maybe even “calm” a little, when we have a quiet or relatively safe moment, even a few hours to sleep.
The environment is in charge now, no pa ka fe lot bagay.