Lazy Sundays

     We took an adventure this weekend and visited some of the toddler friendly places just outside of Pigeon Forge. My child absolutely loves to sit and look at animals, and getting to feed them is even better. 

    With Hurricane Helene being nearly a year ago, we felt that today should be a day of celebration. The ironic part was that parts of Tennessee had experienced a flash flood the day before and we could still see the aftermath of the torrential rain. The animal pens all had large collections of water at their lowest points. 

    A year ago today, we were terrified what all the heavy flooding would bring. We didn't have power for a few days due to downed trees. So many families out toward Bat Cave had it so much worse than us. We only had minimal damage and I'm glad we were one of the lucky families. 

    I can still remember thinking... when is all this rain going to stop? We had to move our animals to higher ground and keep watch over the rising small creeks that crested. It felt like the literal sky had just emptied its contents out on us. 

    Watching the news on my phone was heart breaking. Communities less than an hour away had total losses. Some many people lost their lives just trying to seek shelter. I don't think I will ever get over helping loading the trucks with supplies and talking to survivors. I donated what I could spare and helped when and where I could. In my opinion, it felt like so many people were left to fend for themselves. I'm so proud of my small town sending trucks and trucks of supplies. In dark times we need to pull together. I'm glad we had a day of peace, but I still remember what our part of the state was like a year ago.