Helping the home we call Vermont.

Water flooding a field and spilling over the road on River Road in Manchester, VT.

We took an unexpected body blow when Hurricane Irene made her unwanted visit.  That fateful Sunday will be seared in our memories.  We watched in horror as streams, rivers and lakes all over Vermont overflowed their usually placid courses to wreak havoc in neighborhoods, on farms and roads throughout our community.  For a state that has a long-standing respect for nature, this has given us an even deeper respect for the power and fury of water.

That day two of my neighbors’ houses were overrun by the Mettowee River, which runs between their two properties. Told to evacuate quickly and take what they could, neighbors helped wade through waist high water to carry out a few of the more precious belongings – photo albums, paintings, important papers. My husband kept a careful eye on the storm drain near our driveway that was under a foot of water but still, thankfully, draining away.  As a precaution, I started to pile up a few items on the dining room table that I would grab just in case the lake forming outside our window got any larger and headed towards our home.  What would you take if you only had a few minutes time?  My pile consisted of computers, some jewelry, passports, a bag of clothes.  Items that were either practical or irreplaceable made the cut.  In the end, we did not have to evacuate but I will reflect on those frantic moments for a while to come.

Some Vermonters were not lucky enough to even have a few minutes preparation before their homes washed down a river.  My heart breaks for them.  We who fared better are now called on to help where we can.

I am impressed with the way Vermonters are getting to work on the hard task of rebuilding our state.  I come from an Italian tradition of operatic histrionics when faced with adversity but that is not the way here.  No less felt, but in a quiet, steely determined way, the work ahead will be hard and together we will rebuild the place we call home. 

Now, let’s get to work.