Today, October 14th, marks 18 days since Hurricane Helene hit our mountains. Two weeks since our mountain landscape has been forever changed. Two weeks since our kids have been in school. Two weeks since thousands have had power. Two weeks since many have seen or heard from their loved ones. You get it – it’s been over two long weeks of heartache for the Western North Carolina communities.
This once-in-a-lifetime event has brought devastation to the land while strengthening the Appalachian communities.
These mountain folk, along with the thousands of volunteers, first responders, and lineman coming from out of town, are the backbone to the rescue, recovery, and restoring efforts.
As I sit down to type out this update, I can’t help but remind you to take a moment and show gratitude for the people and simple things in life.
It’s the day-to-day things we need to recognize that make this life so beautiful – the air to fill your lungs, water and food to nourish your body, the grass below your feet, a soft pillow to rest your head at night, a hug from family or friends…it’s all so precious, and can be taken in a blink of an eye.
During the hurricane, we lost power, cell service, and wifi for 8 days. While it was a challenging 8 days, we are so incredibly fortunate to have our home, each other, and all we need to get by.
In the months prior to this storm, Travis and I had began prepping our home…just in case. Thankfully, those items helped assure we had everything we needed to get through this natural disaster.
That leads me to this…
Prior to this event, this blog (Our Blue Ridge House) has been a place for me to share about natural remedies, outdoor adventures, caring for your home, and local fun.
Now, however, I feel as though I need to use my platforms to help others be prepared for the unexpected.
Moving forward, I will use TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and this blog to share ways you can prep your home.
While I’ve already started on the social media platforms, I will soon get back to posting the content on here as well.
@ourblueridgehouse Emergency prepping tips are atarting woth food. Get a few food buckets to make sure you and your family can eat in the event of power loss. #falldealsforyou #readywise #foodbucket #prepping #hurricaneprep #naturaldisaster #aff ♬ original sound – Sarah | Blogger Mountain Mom
For now, I have tried a dozen times to share my notes from the hurricane experience, but fail to complete it every time.
Perhaps it’s survivors guilt, but my mind is not clear enough to organize and produce the content via the blog quite yet. I’m giving myself grace and patience as I move forward to bring you the content.
To wrap this up, I want to remind you to please continue to support the Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee communities.
You can donate money, donate time, donate warm clothing, cook meals, support our local businesses that are open, reschedule instead of cancel Airbnb trips to the mountains, meditate or pray, and share all videos/content from us WNC content creators who are trying to get the word out.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, supporting this blog, and supporting our mountain communities. Your love is felt and much appreciated!
