I am riding a river of thought, emotion, and activity. The night Hurricane Helene struck Asheville, where our children and four grandchildren live, I was preparing to leave for a cruise up the Danube. A trip that had been planned one year ago with my husband’s three brothers and their spouses.
Our daughter was at our house to attend her friend’s wedding at Claymont. Friday morning, she became a veritable relay center between out-of-state Asheville residents and her husband. As flood waters invaded their low-lying home, she found her family and three cats a safe house in the neighborhood above.
Jack and I postponed leaving for our trip until we knew our children and their cousins were all safe. Only our daughter’s house had been damaged. (After the Flood video.)
Most houses had no water, electricity, or internet, and cell service was spotty. Roads were blocked, highways damaged, the airport shut down. However, our second home outside of Asheville was unharmed.
Turbulent Decision
So here was my dilemma. There was nothing more I could offer by cancelling our trip. In fact, by being gone, there was more room in both our homes in WV and in NC for our children. Yet emotionally, I was torn between feeling the need to be as close to my kids as possible and not spoiling this family trip for Jack and his brothers. A trip I had set myself to be fully engaged in.
Indeed, our Danube River cruise was filled with deep impressions. New understandings were gained about European history during our walking tours. We were also shown high-water marks on historic buildings in various cities. In fact, flooding had occurred just two weeks before our arrival.
A History of Flooding
This shared reality brought me closer to the people living along a river, especially ones that bisected towns like in Asheville. And because of that, I found it impossible to post the many beautiful photos I was taking, knowing the devastation my children were dealing with in their lives.
Then we were home, but the river I was riding branched in a new direction. Claymont’s 50th Gathering was a week away. I had invited volunteers from our recent Course of Study (COS) to come a few days early to help setup for the event. For me, Claymont’s 50th memorial year started three days after arriving home from our cruise. My emotional, physical, and thought energy was now focused on serving what wanted to manifest at Claymont.
Emotions about my children were subsumed into Claymont’s needs. The COS graduates swept, vacuumed, and scrubbed. We arranged flowers, rolled out carpets, setup tables, name badges, and signup sheets for meals and cleanup. We sat together for morning exercise and worked at inner tasks. The river I was riding flowed on, carrying me along with it, into an historic gathering of those who had been on JGB’s “courses.”
Courses that taught us to know ourselves, be sensitive to nature, and to serve the future. A future that is now pooling into my greater present moment.
thank you for being there and all your hard work!
Hi Helen, to set the record straight. I was NOT there – we were on the river cruise in Europe. The video was shot by Lakota, Jackie’s husband. He brought the boys and the three cats up to our house in WV after the storm, to stay with Jackie. He then returned to Asheville to deconstruct the downstairs which had flooded. Their upper story remains ok. The whole family is now living in our home just west of Asheville, while they work on rebuilding.
I’m glad the kids and grandkids are safe. Looks like Jackie and Lakota have a lot of work ahead of them. Next time we’re together, I expect to hear tales of Ashville, the Danube and the 50th Gathering. “Watching the river flow…”