Sometimes we’re so caught up in our daily routine of life we forget our world can be flipped upside down in just hours. This was the case of the Banwart family, although they went to bed with expectation of waking up in the morning like always, they woke up to smoke.
In 2017 the Banwart family was abruptly awakened at about one in the morning.They safely made it outside to realize their house was in flames. Their mother happened to be awake at the time when she sniffed out the smoke and got everyone up and out. Their house was gutted out and their belongings were thrown out. Now after about two years, Noah and Lydia, who both attend CCAHS, are rebuilding their life
“The biggest struggle for me personally was the fact that it was hard to sleep after thinking it could happen again,” Lydia Banwart (‘19) said. “The fact that we were sleeping in a different area when I couldn’t sleep it made it hard to do school work but I pushed through.”
Lydia lost a lot of things in the fire, items including family and baby pictures, as well as a porcelain doll she got from her grandma for her eighth birthday.
“The biggest struggle was losing everything in the house, you don't realize you use so much stuff until it's gone,” Noah Banwart said.
The family lived with their grandma for about four to five months while their house was being rebuilt. Though the house was not the only thing needed rebuilding, so was life after the fire.
“I wasn’t worried about losing our house, I was just grateful that my family and I made it out,” Lydia Banwart said, “That made it easier to move on and keep my head up because a house is just an object not a life.”
It took about four months to rebuild their house, and during that time the community stepped in to help.
“There are billions of helpful hands, the community was a really big help in the repair to our house and the clothes we received,” Lydia said.
As Lydia and her family settled into new life and eventually moved back into their house, Lydia had a new appreciation for those in her life, as well as her community.
“It taught me that family is more valuable than anything in your life, you can’t replace people.”
