The “Godzilla House” in Lakeland, FL. Courtesy, Jeff Cayer
After an active 2024 storm season, many Floridians with damage are trying to find their festive spirit even in the chaos of rebuilding. That’s the case for Jeff and Jennifer Cayer, who usually modestly decorate their Lakeland home each year for the holidays. The married teachers have lived in their house for more than 30 years and raised a family there, and are “normally very, very, very conservative with [their] lighting,” Jeff Cayer told Patch in an interview. But this holiday season, they decided to go all out and make the most of the huge hole that Hurricane Milton left in their roof, incorporating it into a spectacular light display with another infamous destroyer – a 14-foot-tall inflatable Godzilla.
The Cayer’s residence was the only home on their street damaged during Milton, when a huge oak tree in the yard split and crushed part of their home. While the house is still inhabitable, the excised oak trees did quite the number on the Cayer’s front yard, and the caved in front of their home is just as unsightly.
“Our house looks terrible, and our yard looks terrible. We decided to highlight (that and) make it look like a disaster scene,” said Cayer. Around the roof are strands of rainbow lights, perfectly straight, until Godzilla’s crushed portion of roof, where the lights have lost power and dangle from above. Down on the lawn, Santa fights the creature armed with a slingshot and his usual bag of presents. According to the Cayers, their house has become something of a neighborhood celebrity, with many driving out of their way down the cul-de-sac to see the holiday lightshow. “Nobody (usually) comes to the house to see lights,” said Jeff Cayer, “but we’ve already had people driving down the street.”
The couple’s optimism and holiday spirit remain unwavering even through an unfortunate set of circumstances – greeting all those passing by their holiday battleground with a smile and a wave. They’ve already had to go retrieve Godzilla once when a great gust of wind carried him off their roof and down the street. A neighbor alerted them to the missing centerpiece, and they had quite the laugh before strapping him back down again. The Cayers’ resilience shines through every rainbow light bulb strung around the roof, and they hope the display will resonate with many who are in the middle of rebuilding themselves.
Holidays offer us this sense of magic and community, where we can look to one another to overcome even the worst disasters. The Cayers embody this togetherness, letting others find some holiday cheer in the mess that Milton left their home. “We’re just representing the Christmas spirit and all that. This year it’s colors and a 14-foot Godzilla,” he said. “It’s totally different from any other light display they’ll see.”
From all of us at Lisa Miller & Associates, may the holiday spirit of hope be with you, your family, and colleagues, and best wishes for a happy and peaceful New Year.
Lisa
LMA Newsletter of 12-16-24
