Note: This post is reprinted with permission from Summer Kirkpatrick's Facebook page.
October 3.
A letter sat on my kitchen counter for two days. I didn’t have the capacity to open it until tonight. Reid finally made it back to our home in Williamsburg with a uhaul full of firewood from the tree that fell on our house. Maybe that is why I was able to open it tonight. Having him home again has let some of the stress from the past week let go.
Our renters are family friends. We’re connected to them through the Presbyterian church and Folk Dance Camp. They are both retired church workers, reliable people, singers, writer, historian, quilter, gardener. I always tell people that since they moved in, our yard has never looked better. The wife sends a note in the mail each month with the rent check. It almost always has an update on the season and which plants and trees are blooming or producing or changing, and any church news. This letter was the same. Sent before the storm, she commented that they expect to get “lots of rain”.
When I hold this letter, I picture what the house must have looked like when she posted it to the mailbox. I imagine it’s a sunny day, with damp grass from the previous rainstorm that had saturated the earth before Helene came through. The dogwoods are turning red. The oak tree is dropping acorns on the roof with irregular rhythm. The bears smell the acorns and wait to come through the yard in the night to forage.
I’ve seen reports that this storm brought an amount of rain that is only seen in our area once in 1000 years.
There is no way I’m depositing that money. I rip up the check and throw it away. I remember that I need to call the mortgage company to ask to pause our payments. Tomorrow. Maybe I’ll get to that tomorrow.
Tomorrow (October 4th) I’ll be standing in the church parking lot again. Ready to be fill another uhaul with much needed supplies. Another trip back to Black Mountain. This time I’ll go with Reid.
“Should I stay here and watch the kids?” I ask him.
“Summer, you NEED to be there.” And I do. On so many levels, I do.
The quote on her stationary gives me pause. “Many Churches, One Ministry”. That resonates deeply as I communicate with community members all over Williamsburg, from many different houses of worship, to collect Hurricane Helene relief supplies. I marvel at how we have been brought together because of this tragedy. It gives me such great hope.
I’ll be in the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church parking lot Friday, October 4th from 12:00 - 6:00 pm, and in the Walsingham Academy upper school parking lot from 3:30 - 4:30 pm accepting supplies and donations.
God, let our work be a blessing to our neighbors in need.
