{"id":153,"date":"2016-02-21T15:31:02","date_gmt":"2016-02-21T15:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/rebuilding\/?p=153"},"modified":"2016-11-18T21:36:38","modified_gmt":"2016-11-18T21:36:38","slug":"jenn-andersons-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/rebuilding\/2016\/02\/21\/jenn-andersons-story\/","title":{"rendered":"For This Single Mom, Recovering From Disaster Is Nothing New"},"content":{"rendered":"

Single mom Jennifer Anderson had already rebuilt her life once before. After her husband’s suicide in Las Vegas, she picked up her two toddlers and moved to North Texas. <\/em>Then two years later, <\/em><\/span>the day after Christmas, a\u00a0tornado hit her Garland home.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

The only thing tougher than battling back from disaster is doing it twice.<\/p>\n

When Anderson ushers guests into the living room of her wrecked second-floor apartment, she chuckles, calling it her \u201cself-made patio.\u201d Then she corrects herself.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

Jennifer Anderson. Photo\/Thorne Anderson<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cOr tornado-made patio,” she says.<\/p>\n

“That\u2019s exactly what it is. You can see the nails are all still there where it just ripped the whole wall, along with the roof, off the building.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s not exaggerating.<\/p>\n

The back wall and living room ceiling are gone.<\/p>\n

Those brave enough to peek over the edge of the apartment building will see a pile of shattered toys, sofa cushions and gnarled debris mashed into the grass below.<\/p>\n

Anderson’s living room floor is covered with glass, water-logged books, and diapers that must have belonged to a baby downstairs. A single child\u2019s shoe sits alone, stuffed with insulation by the wind.<\/p>\n

So much of what she owned was ruined. Only a few things survived.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the wet bar the glass is still there, and it\u2019s not even bolted in or anything, you just lift it up,” she says. “It was still there, and there was a family portrait that was still there with no frame.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even while wading through a sea of shattered possessions, Anderson is cheerful.<\/p>\n

VIDEO: Jennifer Anderson Shares Her Story<\/h5>\n