Not quite the end of September we thought would happen. A hurricane came through last week and hit the mountains of North Carolina devastating the area especially in the Western part of the state where Asheville is located. There is currently little or no electricity, cell and internet service and the water situation is very bad. The latest word is it could be weeks until there is water restored. That being said, our family came through relatively unscathed. After toughing it out for three days they were able to leave yesterday and head to Beaufort, SC. Friends of Hadley’s family have a recently built little house in town they are not using and have made available to the family. They left good friends behind in Asheville who are doing whatever they can to help up there. With two young children Margot and Hadley felt they had to leave if they could. We are all praying for those whose lives have been turned upside down. The total picture is as yet unknown. A young college student, Ethan, started a Facebook page while in 7th grade called North Carolina’s Weather Authority. I have been following him through the disaster and his reporting, photos and video, descriptions from locals who could get news to him are heartbreaking and of tremendous support for many. I applaud him.
It seems almost trite to talk about anything else. We went to the Blessing of the Animals on Saturday morning and I can’t help but think of all those animals in the floods. It just takes over. My daughter said I have to stop looking at the pictures because it is just too much. I remember in 2006 when Katrina came through New Orleans I was glued to the television for days. I was needlepointing Libby’s Christmas stocking and sitting in a hotel in Toronto Canada supporting a friend going through a tough time. The news reports are comparing the devastation from Helene to Katrina and I think they are right. We lived through Matthew in South Carolina. We arrived home a few days after the hurricane hit Dataw Island and Beaufort, SC. It was months and months of cleanup. We had amazing support from our General Manager and the maintenance team but they eventually had to bring in FEMA because the devastation was so dire. Then it was trees down. The water is much worse.
On a lighter note, here is Bean totally focused on where she saw a chipmunk go into the wall. She can literally sit like this for hours just waiting for the creature to come out again. If the chippie is smart it won’t even try.
We continue to have beautiful fall weather which has made walking an absolute pleasure. We only missed one day last week and that was because of the rain which was too heavy to walk in. A light rain I can cope with but this was wind and rain and it is too difficult to carry an umbrella and my rain suit, while good won’t keep out that much rain. We have another beautiful week coming up so I’m hoping to get out there some more.
