Amongst the sogginess lies beauty

Nature's life cycle continues to unfold. Beauty continues to appear, be it Peony blossoms dropping sedately in the rain or Lilies starting into bloom. Grapevine leaves unfurl with the promise of baby grapes to come. The birds will find wild strawberries ripening under the protection of Hostas. Succulents grow large with the abundance of rain in preparation for the dryness of summer. Plants intermingle and find fellowship with each other.
The past few days has seen the wonder of friends, neighbors, relatives and strangers coming together to assist those in need. While the rain this weekend hampers the drying process people still find ways to assist,  be it a smile and hugs that so many now need, laundry by the bagfuls needing cared for, babysitting and having a listening ear. For some, the heavy heartedness has started as they experience "survivors guilt", for others relief that they can forget about their own world and step in to improve the lives of others. Many are in awe of the trucks hauling away the debris. There is visual relief as areas of green return once more. People intermingle and find fellowship with each other.

The guardian :)

"Guarding" home and hearth above the area Nik helped to demolish

while surveying this from it's vantage point.

Now there is stillness as homes dry out and wait for the next stage. Soon all of these visual reminders of the storm will be gone as huge double trucks haul everything away. People laugh and joke but then they look each other wearily in the eyes and no words need to be said.
Children are missing from their yards, except for one intrepid young man who played in his swing set amongst the rubble (not this location). Soon all their joyful laughter and desires to explore will return :) For the moment things are eerily quiet.

This to that and maybe back again

This is our normal stream bed and the pile is what was pulled out of the house basement at the entrance to our sub-division

This is another part of the stream further down the road and part of what happened to the least hit hard section of the street it helped to flood.

All of these photographs were taken early this morning. I have chosen not to take photographs of the worst affected areas of town. Too challenging, plus I want to be respectful of the many serious loses that have been suffered.

We are on temporary phone services. When I started out on my walk this one was in place. When I returned they had just switched shifts and another one was in place. Each unit is manned.

Other utility workers arriving to set things in motion for the day at the "lighter" damaged end of Sawyer Brown.
This has been a week of contrasts.
Thankful that we did nor receive serious damage and were available to be out in the community to help wherever needed. Sorrow at the devastation and loss to so many people.
Grateful that few people died but also mindful of the many who knew those that did.
Grateful that so many people came to help save what they could in quick fashion. Thankful for their up-beat attitudes as they got mucky, and stinky and provided relief.
Haunted by the look in the eyes of an elderly gentleman sitting on his porch with nothing left.
Thankful for wonderful weather that is aiding the cleanup.
Awed by what I saw as I did delivery runs round 3 or 4 areas of our town and saw the magnitude of the tasks ahead.
One of the questions asked a lot over the past few days by puzzled people. "How did it manage to happen so fast? It did not look like much was going to happen then all of a sudden water everywhere."
The whole experience will teach us all how to be effectively prepared for disasters, big or small, that's for sure. The realities as opposed to the theory. What areas we each need to better prepare in, what we are already doing fine with. Will it change our perspectives towards self and others, or will we return to what we were before (whatever that was.)

It takes a village and a variety of tasks

Some of the recurring statements I've been hearing this week as clean up starts from the flooding are
"I wish I could do more"
"I feel bad because I am not available to do much"
"I'm not strong enough to do heavy lifting"
"I don't know where to start"
"What can I do to help"
"When can I help"
"Where can I help."

A town crisis and recovery is not all about the hefting, shoveling, muscle bound things.
The "elephant" has many parts -
preparing and/or delivering food
baby-sitting for others
creative communications when the regular is not available
organizing work parties
hugging people
holding hands
letting people cry
cracking appropriate jokes to alleviate tension
having a listening and non-judgmental ear
cooperating with authorities in charge
preparing stacks for trash pick-up
doing laundry for others
opening up your home to house people
watching traffic patterns
slowing your life down i.e. having and exerting patience
taking in other families pets
finding out about and making donations as needed
helping devastated individuals make lists to organize their thoughts for their daily activities
a lot of children do not grasp what is happening or are taking it in their stride don't stress them out.

One of the girls visiting our house yesterday said matter of factly "We are going to grandma's. There's a hole in our living room floor, it's ridiculous" :) (Their house is getting wrapped).

Live your lives as normally as you can. Your assistance might be needed further down the road. It takes time for all the dust to settle so to speak. I overheard someone saying "we learned a lot from Hurricane Katrina it's helping us here."

The school bus drivers are going to be checking routes this week-end.

On the crest of a wave

Okay so I'm just being whimsical here :) All our streams and rivers are cresting (and then some) and the Cumberland river in downtown is now at flood stage. We have had water going up and down depending upon the rain but our neighbors are flooded. Parts of our town have been evacuated.

Weather update

We are being told this is the worst spring storm in many years (1979) with more to come. Some of the highways and interstates are closed in areas. 24W/Bell is flooded both sides, 24E/Briley Parkway is flooded. Smyrna and  Mt. Juliet areas are flooded. There are many cars and trucks stuck in water some completely submerged. Others are floating along upside down. There was a mobile home floating down 24W/Bell (from Lighthouse Christian School) that is now totalled. Basically there is a river running down the highway.