Healing is Happening

Growing up, “fire season” was a common occurrence. My dad works for Ventura County Fire Department. There were times when he would go off for big brush fires, and we wouldn’t see him for weeks on end. As I write this, I have not seen him in a week because of the Easy and Maria fires. My mother and I have always talked about what we would do with our pets (horses, goats, chickens, dogs, and cats) in the event of a fire. She had to hand walk horses out of the fires in Chatsworth back in the 70s. It is safe to say, we had a plan of action when Woolsey broke out.

I did not have a plan for what happened the day before. I never had a plan of how to grieve for the loss of two dear friends, Noel Sparks and Tel Orfanos. Two people who helped me grieve the loss of my brother the year before. My Borderline family helped me through a dark time, and now we help each other.

I was not at Borderline that night. I stayed up the entire night, watching the news, praying to see familiar faces. I felt relief when I saw Mel walk out. That relief was short-lived, as minutes turned into hours. Texts and Snapchats went unread, and calls went to voicemail. I drove through Noel’s neighborhood to see if I could find her car, maybe she went home and was asleep. The sun rose, and I went to the teen center to wait. Members of my church started to come to wait. Wendy just had surgery the day before. We made sure a pastor was on the way to wait with her.

We got the news, and I broke. My mother drove us to the hospital. I didn’t know what else to do, except to be with Wendy. Throughout the day, I received calls about the friends we lost. Each call was another strike to the heart. It was now Thursday, a night where Noel and I would attend the Young Adults group before going out to dance. I attended with my brother instead. By the end of the service, smoke started to fill the building.

We went home, just to start evacuating. My family has 5 horses and a 3 horse trailer. The plan that we had joked about, riding out on horseback with little dogs in backpacks was starting to look real. Our three older horses were taken to Waverly. It was the closest spot in case we needed to get everyone out that night. My dog George and I stayed with them all night. Others brought horses; some families were parking classic cars in the dirt lot. Across the 23 Freeway, the light of the fire shined, and continued to gain ground.

Another night of waiting.

The waiting was the hardest. This past year has been full of waiting. Waiting for the sadness to go away. Waiting for the nightmares to stop. Waiting for the healing to start.

Healing will start. Healing came with visiting Wendy in the hospital. Healing came as she and Tony (Noel’s dad) and I went to dinner throughout the year. Healing came with hearing stories of our angels. Healing came in the form of tears and laughter. Healing is happening right now. I have hope in our community. We will grow stronger, bond deeper, love harder. #BorderlineStrong

Lacy W.