Her Flood Story

Our Beauties!

Yesterday was our first day out all alone, just momma, Brinley and Adele. I'm still trying to find a good way to get both girls in the car without making numerous trips. Brinley, Adele, diaper bag, oxygen, purse....I may have to give a child away or hire a car nanny. :)
We went over to Auntie and Uncle's house. The kids were at school but Brinley always has the best time with her Auntie. They had a dance off in the kitchen and I'm pretty sure that Brinley took first place. There was some good dancing! :)

We took the kiddies to Danika and Ryder's school at the end of the day. I wanted Adele to have some snuggles with Ryder's teacher, Mrs. DeWitt.

The kid's school was destroyed in the flood. It was such a beautiful, new school. Some of these kids have lost their homes and now have lost their school. They have been displaced once again. They were supposed to be placed at the local high school in portables, but they weren't ready, so the local community centre welcomed them into their building. I'd say that the only perk is the air conditioning. They are crammed into these rooms, with classes only separated by partitions. That's tough. The office is the coatroom, so the administrative assistants have gone from a beautiful office to a small, tight space.

When we got to the 'school', Ryder ran up to Adele and was so excited to see her, he even showed her off to his friends. I love that Brinley and Adele's cousins love them so much. It's a beautiful sight. Mrs. DeWitt came over and told me that she couldn't wait to have some snuggles with Adele. We went to her room and to be honest, I held back tears.
Mrs. DeWitt had the most beautifully set up room at the old school, filled with colour, toys, manipulatives, games and years worth of resources. She is now sharing a room with the kindergarten class. My heart broke.
When you look around the room, you see some items that you know have been donated by others but nothing from the old school. It was all lost.
I sat down with Mrs. Dewitt and we had a little chat about the flood. I can tell that it is still so fresh for her, like it was yesterday.

Our Little Town :(

That day, she was stranded in her house. There was no water, then shortly after, it was up to her knees. She got in her car, but couldn't go anywhere. She was stuck. My sister was worried about Mrs. DeWitt and her safety and the school was not able to get a hold of her....everybody was so scared. My sister kept trying and trying then eventually told Bob that they needed to go to her house and rescue her and her birds. They attempted but to no avail, they were stopped by barricades. The water was too high.
Thankfully, Mrs. DeWitt was rescued. Her house was gone. It was destroyed. They had four feet of water on the main floor.
Mrs. DeWitt kept calling pet rescue to get her little birdies out and to a safe place. She was told that they were only rescuing dogs and cats.  Animals are members of our family. I couldn't imagine how she felt at that point, I've lost my home, I've lost my school and now I will lose my pets. Such devastation.

When her family was allowed to return home, they could gather whatever belongings they could and it was time to move on. When she walked into her home, she cried. She cried for all of her loses. Her little love birds were laying peacefully cuddling each other, they had died. Her family gathered their belongings and went to stay with family.

Once the shock of the flood settled in, the insurance company was informed. They said "NO." They would not be covered. They would not be given any funds to help re-build their lives. They would be starting over. She lost her home, her school, her cherished items, her car and the insurance company tells her that they will be giving them no support. 

Mrs. DeWitt told me that sometimes she just cries. It's more difficult for her because she hasn't left High River, so she is living it every day. She sees the destruction every day. Her home is down the street from the community centre. She is reminded daily of her loses.

I don't know how it's possible to go to school every morning and put a smile on your face and make a positive difference in the lives of her students. How is that possible?

My heart aches.

Holy Spirit Academy

Mrs. DeWitt is a remarkable and strong woman. She is an amazing teacher and loves each one of her students dearly and with all her heart. She displays such professionalism and has such a caring and beautiful demeanor. We all love Mrs. DeWitt.

They should be moving into the portables next month, so once again, starting over. It's going to be a difficult year. My heart aches.

Mrs. DeWitt has never asked for anything. She has bought some new supplies for the classroom and walks in the door full of energy and love but I know that deep in her heart, she is feeling such loss. Her family needs to re-build a home, all starting over from the beginning. That is taking savings that could have been used for retirement, but instead it will be used to start life over again.

If any of my friends would like to help out, I know that gift cards to any teacher stores like Scholar's Choice, would help out a lot. I just feel so bad. I want life to be so much better for Mrs. DeWitt and her family. Please let me know if you can lend a helping hand. <3

Thank you friends. Love you all. Don't take life for granted. Don't take your family for granted. Be thankful.

xo

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If you want to rank my blog or leave a comment.....I am in the Newest Blogs section but will be eventually be in the Special Needs section. I am not doing this for my ego, I am doing this because this journey is important to me, it is important to share and to hopefully educate, entertain and show others that it can be done. I've said for a while now that these two girls, with the help of family and friends, will change the world! :)