House fire

I really think my life is a bit (or a lot) like a soap opera sometimes. Really, we've had it all. I thought life would just get nice and boring well into my 30s and beyond. Ha! We had a fairly decent house fire about 6 years ago now. Our end of the house was completely gutted and much of the rest was smoke and water (from the fire hoses) damaged.the smell was horrendous fire has it's own peculiar smell, I guess just like after floods. Even now if I smell it, the memories come back.
The insurance rep was fntastic. We had been completely paid out within 3 months, enabling us to get on with just rebuilding our home and lives.
The bad side. I thought I was going mad, the stress was unbelievable and the heartache. My beloved cat misty died from smoke inhalation. Unbelievably I got sick of shopping. It's ok for a few things, but a whole house and contents?? Losing things that have sentimental value and you know can't be replaced is sad.
The good side. We saw just how kind people can be. All our stuff is relatively new. We made some new friends that had gone through the same thing a week before. We are still friends today.
It was one of those things that I'd always dreaded. I saw a show on tv as a kid showing how to survive various emergencies, one of them being a house fire. It gave me nightmares! With the number of bad things happening to me or mine that I've dreaded, I'm now scared to voice any of my fears, ever! Pity I can't stop thinking them, oh that's right, there's alcohol.