Blizzard of 2010

My dear sons, Rohin and Talin,

By the time you are old enough to read this blog for yourselves, you will already know how much I love your daddy. But you will not have remembered an experience we had together as a family that had a small impact on me in life. It was during the blizzard of 2010.

Your father was in Los Angeles on a business trip and was unable to fly back due a the major snow storm that hit our area. We predicted that all flights would be cancelled and decided to stay with Ammuma and Thatha through the weekend. We packed up as much as we could, including some food items, cloths, even your Jump and Jive which you both love so much and of course, Yogi. Ammuma and Thatha were very excited to have us all stay over. We hoped and prayed for your daddy's safe return knowing it wouldn't be for 2-3 more nights that we'd see him.

The storm got so bad that the the snow reached 3 feet in height. All was well until the power went out early Saturday. We all huddle together to prepare for a cold, cold night. Firewood was available but unfortunately had to be hauled from way back at the edge of the property. Ammuma, Sadhana Chechi and mama hauled loads of wood to start a fire in the fireplace. Thatha was very sick so we put him in charge of managing the two of you. You both were starting to get very cold but were playful and happy. As the night drew closer, I had a feeling that we were in for a long night. Talin, we bundled you up in a thick fleece pajama and over top you wore your brown grizzly bear warm up suit. You might have been the warmest of us all, except, even with mittens I couldn't seem to keep your hands warm. Rohin, we suited you up with three layers of clothing, and later decided to keep you in your thick winter coat. You could hardly move your were so bundled up. You were not happy anymore.

By seven o'clock that night we were ready. All of our cell phones had lost power. I had one bar left on my phone, enough to say goodnight to daddy and tell him not to worry and that we all loved and missed him very much. It was pitch dark in the house except for the small glow of the fire. The wood we had was not good and radiated very little heat. We all cuddled up on the floor in front of the fire place. It was cold. I stayed up all night tending to the fire and making sure that all of your body parts, especially your heads, were covered by mounds of blankets. By 3am, it was really cold. We had run out of firewood and the temperature in the house dropped below 40 degrees.

So much ran through my head that night. I thought of how difficult it was to see you both so cold and uncomfortable. I worried so much about you both getting sick or being hungry. I thought about the less fortunate, without even the basics to survive, who have no choice but to see their children suffer cold, hunger and sickness. We are so fortunate. We must always count our blessings.

What I didn’t know that night, was how your father was very tormented by the fact that he couldn’t speak to us to know that we were ok. And just like your father, he was going to do something about it. That night, after countless hours of negotiating with the airlines, he managed to get on a red-eye flight to Charlotte, NC. He rented a car and drove up to Virginia through horrible road conditions and reached our neighborhood by afternoon. He then understood why our roads hadn’t been plowed. Union Church Road was blocked by two fallen trees and down electrical lines from both directions of Bellview Road. He hired a group of men to snow blow around the tree to create a walking path to the house that spanned almost a mile long. We walked the path and escaped safely. It was quite a rescue mission that your father orchestrated. If it hadn’t been for him, we would have been stranded in the cold for another two nights.

I hope that you will consider this story a testament to your father’s heroism. You will see much more of his courage and leadership in your lifetime. Here’s a little secret I’ve learned about him, that I’d like to share with you…he is driven by love, his love for us. You see, there is nothing in the world he wouldn’t do for you boys. You are our most precious gifts in life. In a few months, we will welcome your sister into the world. And since your father named you both symbolically after heros, I would like to name her after my hero in life. I’ve decided to call her Aeowyn Devin Jopp. Love – mom.