You may be wondering if we Itty Bitty Hills are still afloat after the massive floods that hit Middle Tennessee this week. Though there is lots and lots of damage in the area and 21 people lost their lives, we are doing okay. We were in D.C. visiting friends (adorable pictures to follow), so we missed all the excitement, which was good and bad. It was nice to not have to evacuate with a young child, but it was difficult to be away, wondering about our house(s) and the well-being of our parishioners and community. Talk about being helpless! I'm not sure what we could have done for folks if we were here, but we sure felt helpless 600 miles away!
Bethpage (and the rest of Sumner County) saw some serious damage. Our road was closed and evacuated. The post office (4 doors down) had several feet of water in it (though I don't have this confirmed - that's the word on the street). Church members 2 doors down from us sustained significant damage. The parsonage lot is bordered by the creek on 2 sides, and apparently water came up to the house but not into it. The HVAC unit was drowned, so we are without air conditioning at the moment. (Luckily, it is expected to be cool for the next few days.) The pups are fine, thanks to a rescue by a fabulous church family.
Williamson County (where I grew up and where we're moving) was also hard-hit. Franklin and Brentwood were underwater. Spring Hill didn't get hit as hard, and our house inspection this week showed water in the crawl space of the new house (which is to be expected after 13+ inches of rain) but no water damage. (By the way, the rest of the inspection was fine, too - a few minor things that they are going to fix.)
Nashville proper, of course, was soaked. Downtown was a mess. Country Music Hall of Fame: flooded. New symphony hall: flooded (with a loss of lots of instruments, including several grand pianos). LP field (where the Titans play): flooded up to the first row of seats. Opryland Hotel: flooded so badly that it may not reopen until Christmas. Vanderbilt Children's Hospital: flooded. The hospital flooded. Wow. A trailer being used as a classroom floated down I-24. Crazy. So while we fared well as a family, please remember the many, many, many folks in Middle Tennessee affected by this disaster. This mess will be with us for a long time, physically and psychologically.
Check out this video for images of the flood. I can't vouch for the text, but I think the pictures speak for themselves. Look for the ones with signs for Saundersville Rd. and Hendersonville - that's where we go for therapy.
Thanks for posting that video. Although I live in Kentucky now, watching what happened just broke my heart. We get Channel 5 up here, and I just couldn't turn it off. After leaving UT, I lived in LaVergne and worked in Hermitage then White Bridge Rd. then Cool Springs. I know these places- really know them. Circumstances made it to where I don't live and work there now, but that could just as easily been my house flooded (my old house probably was) or my car sitting on I-24 at Bell Rd. I drove through there every day. There but for the grace of God, ya know? Praise God you all are safe and sound. :)
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