Hurricane Helene. Something that will always be remembered by anyone living in the southeastern portion of the US in 2024.
Yes, we've had storms in North Carolina before. But it's usually only the coastal areas that feel much of the effects of the big storms. Located inland, we never expected to see anything like this here. But we did. After hitting the Big Bend in Florida, Helene continued heading north, first hitting Georgia, and then the Carolinas and eastern Tennessee. And it caused so much destruction in its path.
It hit us here in Shelby in the middle of the night. I've never heard wind and rain that powerful before. It was so powerful that it kept waking this sound sleeper up throughout the night.
The next morning, in addition to already having septic problems from all the rain, my family and I lost power pretty quickly. But we weren't alone with the loss of power. Most people in our county (Cleveland) were without power for some time. Even most grocery stores were without power. Trees were down everywhere, even on houses and cars. But even that is nothing compared to some areas. In western NC and eastern TN, the reports coming in were awful. Mudslides. Flooding- flooding of houses, businesses, and even towns. Roads and highways washed out. Very little or no cell service. I could go on. So much happened in less than a 24 hour period.
Just one week ago, I was flying home from a trip to upstate New York. I was visiting my grandparents and had a great visit with them. It was so nice connecting to some of my roots, since I was born in NY. But I've lived in NC since I was 7 years old. When I landed back in the Charlotte Douglas airport, I knew I was back home. That's because NC really is home to me now, and has been for so long. There are so many beautiful areas here, too. But when I say I love the mountains... it's so true. Their beauty has such a piece of my heart. They are comforting. They are peaceful. They have always had so many cute little spots. Seeing what has happened to them from Helene is so sad. But even more so, it's so heartbreaking to see what happened to all the people located in those regions. Some have lost everything. My heart goes out to all those affected and suffering from this disaster.
A friend posted something Saturday that said: "Be thankful for all you have, for you never know what will happen next." (I also shared it on Instagram on @multitaskgraphicsandva yesterday.) Those words are so true. We never know what will happen next. Things can change so suddenly. So it's important to be grateful for what we have. Even the little things. Food. Water to drink. Cups of coffee. And especially, caring friends and family.
We were thankful to get our power back after only 26 hours, much faster than a lot of families. This meant that although a lot of our refrigerator and freezer food had to be disposed of, we were able to save my little brother's food, which was so good since he has special needs and doesn't drink without his food (that boy loves his cheese and yogurt). Our septic issues also improved. We were able to check on some friends locally Saturday. Yesterday, many local friends started getting power back finally, and we also started finally getting reports that some friends we have in the regions more heavily affected are hanging in there despite everything. That's a huge relief.
Please keep taking things one day at a time and hang in there, y'all. ❤️
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