Taking a five day trip to visit friends in Colorado seemed like a great plan and it was. But Sandy is striking and we have no idea what we will face when we eventually get home.

While we have had a wonderful visit with our friends, the storm is weighing heavily on our minds. Doug was away on business until Thursday night last week. The storm’s path was still uncertain. Our focus was getting work done and packing for a 7:45 flight from Philadelphia to Denver Friday morning.

It didn’t take long to regret the preparations that we did not tend to. The patio furniture and grill are still outside. The power boat is in the driveway. The bird feeders are on the trees. The gable in the attic is open. In the scheme of things, these are things that will lead to relatively minor damage, but I can’t help feel like I really dropped the ball on this one.

Blame it on years of being in the news business, but not being in the middle of the storm makes me feel so amazingly helpless. There is nothing I can do from here but wait. We are not sure if or when our scheduled flight will take us back to Philadelphia. Our son is at Widener with no classes Monday or Tuesday. My parents are fine in their apartment. My brother works for Bucks County Emergency Dispatch so he is busy. My nephews should be OK.

While we continue watching the radar, the news reports and reading every update from 2000 miles away, it is bizarre for me to be so removed from a major event that is bearing down on the region that is home to me. There is nothing I can do but wait. I am not very good at that.