April showers can change your life FOREVER.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011. A day that all Cleveland, Tennessee residents will never forget. It will be one of those events that we’ll be telling our grandchildren about. We will always remember the who, what, when and where’s of Wednesday 4.27.11. If you do not live in the Tennessee Valley then you probably have no idea what I’m talking about. Our little down did not make it past the local news coverage yet the devastation is …
As of Sunday, there are now 285 homeless families in Cleveland alone. Hundreds more are living in structures that experienced some sort of damage. Talking with friends who are using snow shovels to clean insulation out of their living rooms and finding debris in kitchen cabinets. Heartbreaking! This is unlike anything we have ever experienced and I pray it’s a “once in a lifetime” occurrence because “once” is one too many in my opinion!
It will take months to sort through the rubble and begin rebuilding. However, it is amazing to watch our community band together and help each other. Forget everything I have ever said about this town. I never want to leave! Cleveland (Tennessee) ROCKS!!!!!
Both school systems have been out since Wednesday. Our system returned to class today (Monday). The county system had two schools destroyed and those kids will be out for at least another week. Everyone is starving for a bit of normalcy. Homeowners worked around the clock this past weekend and many could not wait to return to their jobs/careers Monday morning. Ball games resumed tonight. Many players were missing and teams were playing with slim line-ups. The kids on the field needed to be out there ~ running out their frustrations and anxiety. Those not in attendance, I’m sure, wanted to be there instead of picking up the remains of their property before the next round of rains arrive. This particular player managed to make us all smile tonight:
Have you ever seen such a sight? This gal has been begging to play catcher. Tonight was her lucky night. Most kids do not like that position but all I can say is “it’s in her blood”.
Not only did she get to play the much-anticipated catcher position, she also scored THREE runs!!! Way to go!
Clean up and relief will resume Tuesday morning. For now, we shall savor the happiness/entertainment that Little League softball brings to our family.