Jackie: High and Dry and Still Moving

[Trying to get Aaron and Dalley to the airport. We couldn't make it there due to flooded highways and roads.

This was the beginning of watching doppler radars for 3 days straight.]

Well, I am now thanks to Denver's altitude and the fact that it's a desert up here.

The trip to Tennessee was amazing. It was time away from all the things in my life that are overwhelming, a chance to be with some of my dearest friends ... oh, and a little bit of adventure. :) It was also a strange reminder to how life simply continues... but I'll get to that later on.

This was an amazing and much needed getaway. Spending the weekend at Joe and Leah's house felt a little like home. It was warm, welcoming and comfortable. There were no formalities, just 5 people together. The pace is slower in Tennessee, the hospitality warmer and the people friendlier.

To me, life stopped and all that existed was this mini-vacation.

We sat around the firepit on Friday night letting the flicker of flames consume our thoughts when the breezes turned to winds and clouds started covering the stars -- signs the "rainy weekend" was about to begin. That's when we got a startling text message - some friends of ours had lost their baby at 38 weeks. And life jumped back to reality. Back home our friends were dealing with an unimaginable tragedy.

But soon we were back in the reality of Nashville. We were all together, enjoying each other ... while the rain picked up and water started pooling, creeks started overflowing, water was coming in basements and the rain just wouldn't stop. I'm sure you've seen pictures on the news or internet, but they don't do justice to the situation. I saw an indescribable amount of water -- places we were at on Friday were complete submerged on Saturday and the waters were still rising on Sunday. [Note: Joe and Leah's house was fine aside from the inch of water in their basement which translated to a whopping 300 gallons of water we took outside in buckets].

Then vacation ended and on Monday afternoon I was back in classes, back in my normal reality. [Though many Nashvillians won't see normal for quite some time, if ever.]

Tuesday morning I was at the funeral of the little one -- grieving a life no one got to enjoy. Another hour outside my world to step inside the grief of my friends. Grief that has been all consuming for them and grief that won't end any time soon. To them, their world has stopped indefinitely.

My little world this semester has felt constricted and all too self-involved. I've found myself apologizing almost constantly -- for not returning messages, for forgetting things, for complaining too much. I wanted to say thank you to all of you who have stepped inside my world in the midst of my recent insanity, looked past my forgetfulness and accepted that this is the current reality of my life.

And of course, thanks to Joe and Leah for hosting me in their home. I love you guys.

PS... My finals and sophomore voice proficiency are Monday and Tuesday!

PPS... I'll post more pics of my trip soon!

[This used to be a park. The Duck River is actually flowing quite nicely behind that first row of trees. By the time I left, the water had risen up to the roof of the picnic structure behind us.]