Nashville Flooding

I felt helpless this week watching the unbelievable photos of Nashville and my hometown of Clarksville, devastated by the worst flooding in their history.   Trying to stay in communication with my mother via cell phone as she rushed to get out of her flooding home was frightening and surreal.  What to do with the cats? What roads are open?  Where to go? Her tone changed with each conversation –– panic, disbelief, scrambling to make quick decisions, despair, and resignation.  It was heartbreaking.  She is safe and so are the cats.  Like so many others, she’s sifting through the wreckage to see what can be salvaged.

Facebook is my connection to friends back home and it has been particularly comforting and touching to watch them help one another this week.  They posted photos and videos of the damage, shared information about curfews, water safety, hazardous roads, alternate routes, food and more. The most frequent posts were people telling each other (and themselves) “we’re going to be okay, we can do this, we WILL do this.”  There were also firm, but loving messages to the very few who complained about the situation –– “hey, we all know it’s tough right now but we’re alive, others weren’t so lucky, let’s stick together, stay positive and make this right.”

I’m proud of my family and friends for the way they’re handling this unexpected and unimaginable situation. It’s not going to be easy. Their loss and the hard work they have ahead of them is not something I can begin to absorb by merely looking at photos and Facebook posts.  The real work has only begun and it’s going to take a long time before life resembles anything normal, but they WILL do this.  They’re strong.  I miss them.  

Here are some photos from the Tennessean, and here are some more.