Dear Reader:

If we learn no other lesson from the ‘once in a thousand years’ storm’… I believe this quote by Vincent Van Gogh says it all.

As we watched the whole process of rebuilding one’s life again (vicariously) through Jackson…the more amazed we were at all “the small things that were coming together” to bring comfort to our friend.

With the exception of the cable company wanting their black box back before closing Jackson’s account (It has been swimming with the dead fish underwater for a week…a little humor there) every one else was gracious and personal in their reassurance that she is not alone in this endeavor.

And it wasn’t just Fema, or an insurance company, or a bank that provided this message but it was also the little (but important things) that kept her spirits up. Her son, Matthew’s calls, were top priority as they shared the loss of their home together… filled with memories from the past, as only the two of them could feel and understand simultaneously.

Then extended family, friends, and neighbors started calling, emailing, and texting to let her know that she was not alone and they would be there beside her for as long as it took… to get her back in her home or wherever home might be in the future. .

You could visibly see Jackson’s facial expressions go from lost and despair to comfort and security. Family and friends’s words of support and encouragement came “flooding” (sorry no pun intended) in.

We learn from disasters that we can’t do it alone…but together we can climb mountains. Many of you are asking about Jackson since her return to Columbia and I will keep you updated as I hear any news. There is a lot going on as you can imagine.

*Libby forwarded this picture that Jackson wanted me to see and share…with all the flood damage…there was one bottle left on the bottle tree and one flower still blooming outside her home….Hope arrives in all shapes and sizes. Unbelievable.

 Anne left yesterday to travel to Savannah to meet members of her family and, especially, her brother who is completing a cross- country bike ride…Congratulations!

Before she left she told me this poignant story….she got a call (from the church) to pick up six sandwiches and take to some congregational families whose homes were destroyed by the flood in Summerville.

When she pulled up… there were workers and volunteers for as far as you could see….she looked down at the sandwiches and thought to herself…she needed 600 sandwiches…not six.

So until tomorrow….”We are one in the spirit” and that spirit will see those left homeless from the floods through this place in their lives. I can’t help but picture an adorable little home that we will be celebrating in and remembering the “Once in a Thousand Year” storm in the near future with Jackson.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

The recently acquired rose bush by the fence had, not only, not drowned…it had more blooms on it, than ever, as I pulled in the driveway Wednesday afternoon welcoming me home.

Last night I babysat Rutledge and Lachlan for their mom and dad to go to a rehearsal dinner at Folly Beach. Before they left Walsh piled the boys in the wagon while he was on a skateboard pulled by Poogie. They were going to the end of the street to try to get a big truck to honk his horn for Rutledge….”Honk, Honk!”

Rutledge got into a large debate with a little girl in his pre-school about the sounds a truck makes…she said it was “beep, beep” and he said “NO…not true…Boo Boo said it was a “Honk, Honk!” The endless riddle of the universe…like the lady or the tiger…the chicken or the egg.

Lachlan and Rutledge sound asleep…hopefully “All through the night.”