Flood Update

Just when I was ready to get back into the swing of things here the flood happened. I just can't even think about recipes or crafts right now. The enormity and the length of recovery time is really just starting to sink in. Today some roads opened. We are getting down to the mud, and we are figuring out who gets to go home and who needs a new place to live, and how else we can help so many of our friends and neighbors. Major relief organizations started rolling into town yesterday: Samaritan's Purse, World Vision, Red Cross, Salvation Army. It's so weird to support these organizations for years and then one day to need them. The work is just beginning. These pictures are not that dramatic, just places we go all over town. The water is about four feet deep under this bridge where we ride our bikes. 

National Guard trucks remain posted at some intersections and several neighborhoods.

It's been a week tomorrow since this started getting serious and parks are still lakes. It's just so hard to believe this is our town. It's not like a hurricane, or even a fire (and we've had a lot of those), we just had no warning and no idea so many people could be affected. I've done a good number of make a difference posts in the past and I guess I just wanted to stop in to say, that's what we will be out doing for the foreseeable future as much as we can. We were able to help a few friends with some different needs today. We've been going stir crazy waiting until we could be helpful, but now I think we see how very much helping we will get to do over the next few months especially.

At the end of the day, I'm so proud to be a Coloradan. I have yet to hear someone complain or ask "why me?" through all of this. What I have seen is neighbors helping neighbors, whether they live down the street or a city away; businesses donating thousands of meals day after day for evacuees, emergency workers, volunteers; people setting up teams of friends to help clean out houses and streets; everyone doing what they can, I mean everyone. That's what I love about Colorado. After seeing the coverage on the national news people probably feel bad for Coloradans, but I think if you're lucky enough to call yourself a Coloradan, you're lucky enough. We will make it together, friends! : ) 

I'll try to stop in with an update in a week or so. In the mean time, we'll see you in the mud!

Thanks for reading!

- Haley