I’ve been grieving ever since news began to trickle down from the western North Carolina (WNC) mountains. I couldn’t even begin writing this post without coming to tears. Hurricane Helene has forever changed my home state. They are saying the catastrophic flooding and mudslides that brought tragedy to so many of my fellow statesfolk was something that could only happen every thousand years. Rivers carved new paths through the mountains like glaciers in a blink of an eye. Entire towns were leveled. The loss of lives is still a growing number.

I moved to North Carolina nearly twenty years ago and immediately fell in love with its beauty and the folks who call it home. In the past, I lived on NC’s coast, and rode out many hurricanes. (I’ve even tent camped through one.) Never did I imagine one would be the cause of so much devastation in WNC, not forgetting that Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida were also hit.

Like so many others, the mountains of North Carolina hold a special place in my heart. While I now live in the Raleigh area, I’ve been visiting WNC long before I moved to the state. It is where so many of my precious family memories were made. It was the first place I took my kids camping, kickstarting the countless camping trips to follow. It was was where my husband proposed (featured photo with the raptor who held my engagement ring), and where we still hope to move to one day. It was where our close friends celebrated our wedding. It was where my good friend from England and I spent time adventuring. It was where my mom and I enjoyed mother-daughter time. I know knew every bend and curve of the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) by heart.

The stories and reports from survivors has left my mind numb with shock. Like so many others did this past week, I shopped for supplies to donate and prayed for all those who were impacted. There won’t be a quick fix. The mark Helene left on North Carolina will be one all living generations won’t forget, because even if you don’t live in WNC, most people know folks or family who do. There are main highways that won’t even be functioning by this time next year. The BRP is closed indefinitely. Homes are gone, farms are destroyed, and families have been torn apart.

Yet, in all that sorrow and devastation, never have I seen my statesfolk come together with such compassion and selflessness to help and support one another during this time of tragedy. And it hasn’t been just North Carolinians stepping up, but folks from all over the world. Stories of rescues, reunions, and renewal have fostered much-needed rays of hope in this dark time. As Legolas quoted in The Return of the King, “Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.” For those of you that have helped in relief efforts, no matter how small a part you played, thank you, truly. It will be a long road to recovery for many, but the knowledge that folk like you exist is the hope needed to foster the healing process.