One year ago.

One year ago, at this time of the morning, I was irritated at our school system because they refused to delay/close school for the day.  A severe thunderstorm was rolling through our area right at the time the school buses were out on the road.  Our local meteorologist, James Spann, was on the air telling everyone to "STAY AT HOME" because the weather was going to be bad that day.  He said "If your school has a problem with it, tell them to come talk to me!"  Both of my children are deathly afraid of bad weather, so we decided to listen to Mr. Spann and keep them home.

I am eternally thankful I did!

When we woke up that April 27th morning, I'm sure nobody had any clue of just how bad things would be.  The weather people can warn you what the numbers and predictions are, but nothing could have prepared the South for what was to come (even though Mr. Spann went above and beyond to warn everyone).  Our state would experience devastation like they've never seen before.  It wasn't just homes that were lost....entire towns were flattened.

Entire families were killed.

When the sun came up on April 28th, the amount of destruction seen was unimaginable.

But, our state pulled together like never before and slowly but surely started the rebuilding process.  The phrase "WE ARE ALABAMA!" became the state's battle cry.  We saw so many things that renewed our faith in the generosity and compassion of mankind.

One year later, there is still a lot to do.  There are still people without homes.  There are still many people grieving the loss of their loved ones.

One year ago, our state changed forever.

April 27, 2011 - Never Forget