Safe

Our family and friends are all safe after the devastating tornadoes that swept through our area last week. We'd just returned from a vacation (....we did NOT have Internet, BTW...) and came home to tornadoes. Sometimes it doesn't pay to leave town!

After checking on family in town we left for the lake to stay with my mom and step father, who had recently had surgery. There was power there ... but no cable or Internet. A charged phone is a GOOD THING, even though service was spotty at best. Power was only recently restored to our area. We are finally home as of an hour or so ago.

Of course, we did not get out into the damaged areas - that only hampers emergency workers - but know that utility companies, cable companies, phone companies, doctors and nurses, emergency workers, law enforcement, National Guard, churches, companies and non-profits, elected officials - so many volunteers and companies came from all over the country to help get North Alabama up and running as quickly as possible. Such blessings, such blessings. Some areas are still without power but most should be restored by week's end.

I thank each and every worker and volunteer. My prayers to the hundreds who lost their lives, and to their loved ones who are mourning today. Prayers as well for those still missing and their families who continue their search.

Life is short. Forgive. Tell people every day that you love them. Hug your children. Be safe.

Debi

Passages

What struck me upon viewing Kayla's photos of the abandon house's inner sanctum is what was left behind. Perhaps it's my point of view as a woman but these tattered, stained, torn curtains speak to me on some deep level.

Women are generally the forces behind the touches that make a house a Home. Flowers in a vase. Candles. Pottery grouped with interesting pieces found in antique stores. Stained glass dragonflies hanging on a window. Potted plants on the porch welcoming guests. Family photos on a wall. Tiny arrangements in odd places simply to entertain and be beautiful. Shadowboxes filled with memories. Countless daily putterings by women that create beauty and interest and personality within a space that transform drywall, glass, wood into welcoming, comfortable spaces.

Some woman long ago chose these curtains with love. They hung for years lending shade from summer sun and heat, insulating somewhat the winter chills and winds and enclosed her family in a safe environment. They lent beauty to the small walls, the subtle turquoise decoration matched the blue walls of her living room. The linen top was simple and aesthetically pleasing. In my mind's eye and imagination the mother hung them anew then stepped back, pleased with what she saw. She invited her mother over to see the new curtains and a celebration ensued between two women that would never be understood by husbands or children.

This house is small, tiny. My dream is that this family moved into a larger place, better surroundings, with larger windows to see the world and new curtains to celebrate. But today, dear lady, I celebrate your curtains as only a woman can do.