End of Year

I've been trying to write this post for 2 days. It's not going well. I can't really put into words how emotionally exhaustive the past few days have been for me. I had both Will and Ryan's end of year parties on Wednesday. They overlapped, but thankfully JW was able to help.

Will has had an amazing year. He has been part of a group of 18 kids and parents that I cannot imagine my life without now. So many small choices and huge blessings went into making this year what it has been for us.
The fact that we bought the house we did, thus getting us into this school zone. The fact that we opted for public school over private.
The fact that we waited and opted not to send Will on to 1st grade. (This is by far the best decision we made. He was still not the oldest in his class.)
The fact that he got placed with his specific teacher and the specific combination of kids.
The fact that I volunteered to be a room mom, forcing me to be involved and making a new BFF in my wonderful co-room mom!!
The fact that this specific teacher valued teaching her students how to love school and love each other over spelling words and memorization.
The fact that all the parents really hit it off early and became a support system for each other and eventually wonderful friends.
All these factors came together and created an amazing dynamic of loving, caring, fun, smart kids.
I cried many tears on Wednesday along with many of the kids and parents. I am going to miss this year and I wish I could freeze time. Too soon these precious kids will lose their innocence. Academics and "being cool" will take over their excitement for silly songs and cookies. But, thankfully, I will still have all my new "Mom Friends" I made this year. I can't imagine moving on without them.
You know who you are, and I thank you all for being a part of this special year.




The money flower pot we gave Will's teacher as her end of the year gift.



Will and his sweet friend Avery watching the end of the year slideshow



Every child in the class got their own personalized scrapbook of the year. What an amazing gift! Some of the moms in our class worked very hard putting these together. It is really a treasure.



Will and his scrapbook.

Eclipse

It's really never too early to get excited.

Flood Thoughts

Life in the Nashville area is now referred to in terms of "before the flood" and "after the flood."

People had events planned, parties planned, work planned. But that was before the flood.

It has been almost 2 weeks and JohnWill has still not been back into his building at work. His firm just moved into to a beautiful new building downtown in November. That area was one of the hardest hit. All his work is now done from a laptop in our dining room, a study room at the library, a Starbucks, or various restaurants.

Post-flood life has been interesting and inspirational. Our church rapidly put together a massive relief effort. I helped out taking in and sorting donations on 2 different days. I met and chatted with people who were there helping that I had never talked to before at church. It was interesting to me that some people who were there working didn't even go to our church, but just read on Facebook that volunteers were needed and came by to help.

JohnWill helped many of our neighbors for 2 days straight emptying out flooded basements and pumping water out from underneath houses.

The outpouring of help has really been astouding. People have literally pressed paused on their normal lives to help those in need. Even now I feel twinges of guilt when I run the washing machine and dish washer. (we were without water for over 24 hours and had a water conservation warning for about a week. It wasn't a joke, either. We were in serious danger of losing our water supply.)

I know life will go on. Life will become "daily" again. We will take our comfortable lives for granted and move on like all Americans. But, somewhere, deep inside all of us affected by the flood, we will remember. We will know we are not in control. We may think we have plans, but we don't. We may think we can plan out our days and mark down in our day timers all the "stuff" we must get done, but we can't.

What a relief that is to me! Because I'll tell you one thing, I don't want to be in charge.

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."
(1 Peter 5:7)




post-flood play in the mud



The street in front our house covered in water



Will playing out front of the Aquarium (pre-flood)



Will and Ryan at our hotel in Chattanooga, The Chattanoogan (pre-flood)

Flood

I know this is very long, but please read it. I tear up every time I read it. I have tons of pictures and thoughts to share, but right now this sums it up. This was written by the husband of one of Ryan's teachers at school.


THIS IS TENNESSEE
VOLUNTEERS ADD NEW CHAPTER TO STORIED HISTORY
by Brent High

On May 1st and 2nd of 2010 a historic amount of rain, as much as 17 inches, fell on middle Tennessee and the city of Nashville in less than 48 hours. Historians are using terms like “thousand year flood” to describe what took place here. The Cumberland River, Nashville’s main waterway, crested at just over 51 feet, flooding iconic structures including the Grand Ole Opry, LP Field and Bridgestone Arena where the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators play, Country Music Hall of Fame and the Opryland Hotel and Convention Center. The water rose so much, so fast and in places water has never been seen that thousands had to be rescued by boat. Dozens lost their lives. Thousands of homeowners lost everything they had. Thousands more are now trying to salvage what’s left. Most had no flood insurance because before May 1st they didn’t need it where they lived. Early estimates are that the damage will top $1 billion and this storm will go down as the most devastating non-hurricane event in American history.

This is Tennessee.

It’s Monday, May 3rd. The rain has stopped, finally. What happens next shouldn’t come as a surprise. Almost instinctively, after a long night of restlessness, volunteers spring into action. It’s in their blood. They’ve been trained to do so by their parents and grandparents. From Waverly to Cookeville, Winchester to Cross Plains and in the capital city of Nashville the sights and sounds are the same. Without being asked, fishermen launch their boats into the muddy soup, joining the rescue efforts. Business owners and supervisors tell their employees to take the day off and jump in and help wherever they can. Neighbors, many of whom helped empty entire houses in brigade fashion the night before, transition into cleanup mode. Sump pumps and generators whirr. Drywall, carpet and ruined floors are ripped out. Elderly ladies gather at the church to make lunches for workers. Teenagers distribute bottled water. Pickup trucks, trailers and storage units are loaded with what could be salvaged. Photos and documents are spread out in the sun to dry. Wads of $20 bills are slid into pockets of those affected. Checks are written. Hugs are given. Prayers are said. Tears are shed.

This is Tennessee.

Almost 200 years ago Tennessee first earned the nickname “Volunteer State.” In 1812 More than 2,000 Tennesseans volunteered to fight for Andrew Jackson and were the main part of Jackson’s army that destroyed the British three years later in the Battle of New Orleans. A generation later the U. S. Secretary of War asked Tennessee for 2,800 soldiers to fight a war against Mexico. 30,000 volunteered.

This is a state where faith comes first. We don’t ask why. We know there is a reason and look forward to it being revealed. We are guided by scriptures such as Philippians 2:3-5 which says: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus.”

Family is a focus, not an afterthought. Don’t bother trying to do business with us the week of Christmas or July 4th. We’ll be with family.
When our kids have a school play we will be there.
We throw big birthday parties.
We teach our kids right from wrong and aren’t afraid to give them a whippin’ when they need it. Here we say “Yes ma’am” and “No ma’am.”
We try to leave a place better than we found it.
We put our hand over our heart when the national anthem is played.
We pull over on the side of the road when funeral processions pass on the other side.
We are savvy business people. We are farmers. We are teachers.
We drink Coke here.
We like gravy with our biscuits and potatoes.
We are serious about our sports. We keep score in little league and we still have all-star teams and MVP trophies.
We are givers.

You won’t hear us wailing about where the federal government and insurance companies were in all of this. We’ll get by just fine without them. Right now we have a lot to deal with here in our backyard. We will handle it with dignity and class. We will sacrifice for each other in ways that are unfathomable to most. We will stand together. We will stand tall. We will come out of this stronger than we were before it. One day in the not too distant future a hurricane, tornado, fire, flood or other unspeakable disaster will strike your community. As you struggle to put the pieces back together we will be there.
We will volunteer.
We are Tennesseans.
This is Tennessee.


Brent High, 36, is a lifelong Tennessean from Nashville. He serves as Assistant Director of Athletics for External Affairs at Lipscomb University and can be reached by email at brent@brenthigh.com.




- picture at top is from the Tennessean taken Sunday in Fieldstone Farms neighborhood where multiple family members and friends live.