Guest Author - Pam Garlick

Last night I got a call from the kids, asking me if I would watch my granddaughter, Rachel. “Of course, I’ll watch her!” I replied. I loved watching my grandchildren, and seldom refused such a treat. However, I quickly realized the seriousness of the situation, when my daughter-in-law-to-be, Trisha, explained that they needed to prepare her mother’s home for the impending flood.

I guess I sometimes get pretty caught up I in my work; or, I might have realized flooding was eminent for people living in the lower regions around the river. Well, I had known we’d had a lot of rain. I had had to shut down my computer several times in the last week due to thunder storms; but that had only made me work all the harder when I got back to it again.

“Rachel was really freaked when she heard about this,” Trisha continued almost breathlessly, showing her own anxiety. I couldn’t help but feel it too. Trisha’s mother was a friend, family as far as I was concerned.

As soon as I hung up from her call I turned on the news, realizing it had been days since I’d watched it. I listened intently to the reports that supported what Trisha had already told me. Yes, flooding was expected.

I didn’t watch the news for long, since I didn’t want to upset my granddaughter more. As soon as she arrived I suggested we watch a Disney channel. We only recently got satellite TV and she had been quick to notice we had two Disney channels, while she only had one on her TV. In any case, my suggestion elicited the desired results. -- Rachel smiled.

However, every so often her smile would fade as she told me about her concerns. Not only was she worried about her “Mom-Mom”, as she calls her other grandmother, but also her twelve year old, Aunt Karlie, and twenty-one year old, Uncle Brandon. Tears filled her eyes as she talked about all the pets that were also going to have to be moved.

I consoled her, explaining that her family was going to be okay because they were doing exactly what they were supposed to do. They were not taking any chances, they were preparing their home, moving as much as they could of their belongings to the upstairs floors of the house, and many other things to her house.

“They aren’t going to stay at their house in case it doesn’t really flood,” I explained. “They aren’t going to take any chances. They’re going to be at your house when you get home. Safe and sound. The people who have the problems are the ones who don’t get out ahead of time.”

As she finally grew engrossed in the antics of Raven my own mind wandered, remembering pictures of people who had been on rooftops during other floods. In particular, after Hurricane Katrina. I remembered the emotions I felt as I watched, wishing there was something I could do to help, and feeling so impotent. When I was younger I worked with the fire company, and I was right out there helping when there was an emergency. Now I’m older, and I’m not as agile as I once was. I’m not sure what help I would be, certainly not in the way I once was.

So, as I did when I watched the aftermath of Katrina, I felt helpless again, except that this time, the emergency was hitting closer to home. My own family was involved. I knew I was going to do whatever I could to help. In fact, I called so many times today to check on everyone that my son probably groaned when he looked at the caller ID and saw it was me. But, I felt the need to make sure everyone was okay. And to once again tell them to let me know if there was anything else I could do.

As I drove home from a meeting today I could see how high the waters had risen – as expected, up to Rachel’s Mom-Mom’s house. I knew the waters were going to rise even more. The river is probably cresting about the time I’m writing this. Good news to some who now await the water’s withdrawal so they can begin the massive job of clean up. The bad news is, the weather report is calling for more rain.

Those of us who haven’t been through a disaster might look at the pictures on the news, or brave the elements for a closer look -- something I don’t advise. – Most of us aren’t just curious; we honestly want to help; but it all looks so overwhelming. Where would one start?

Today I have an answer. Volunteer with an organization that specializes in helping others. Go to your local Red Cross chapter, offer to give blood, or ask what other things they need. Check with the Salvation Army and see what you can do. You don’t have to live close to the emergency to do that.

But if you live close, stop by the local fire station and find out if there is something they need. You may not be trained to help in the emergency, but if they need someone to go for ice, or to make coffee, or get them some donuts, you can help with that. If they say, no, that’s okay. Maybe the best thing you can do it just tell them what a good job they are doing and that they are appreciated.

Then days later, after the emergency is over, remember the work is just starting for many people. Again, if you live in the area, start with one family at a time. Look for one family and chip in where they need it, because they will.

For those who still want to do something more, or who are unable to volunteer, donations are always appreciated by these organization who have been exhausting their resources with so many emergencies.

And, of course, if you are a person of faith, you can pray. Because no matter what the belief’s of the people living through a disaster, they need the answers to your prayers.