A little help for my friend....

     On the middle peninsula of Virginia, in a tiny county called Gloucester, time moves a little slower, and life is a little sweeter. (Well, the sweeter part is because my niece Lucy lives there.) It is full of history and back roads, and lots of great spots for fishing and drinking in the good life. So when something tragic happens there, it is almost magnified because of the sense of community. People not only smile and nod at each other, but they ask about their grandfathers, their mamas, and their dogs. And schools. Well. Sometimes teachers teach several generations of family members. They are necessary threads in the fabric of life.

     Now for those of us who are teachers, our classroom is our second home. It is a place filled with hopes, wishes, and dreams... and usually A LOT of books and various other found objects to help us get our point across. Can you imagine losing that due to a tornado?! (Scroll down to see picturs of Gloucester.)

     Welll.... unfortunately, my friend Michelle experienced this. Here is what she says in her own words:

On the evening of Saturday, April 16, 2011, a tornado ripped through the middle school where I have been a teacher since 1999.   Although my classroom did not seem to suffer wind damage, the contents were unrecoverable.

If you know teachers, you know that most of us like "stuff."   We save anything we think we'll have the slightest chance of needing later for a potential lesson, no matter how obscure the item.   With the exception of one possession, which I will reveal to you at a later time, bits and pieces of my classroom will most likely have a new life fertilizing soil somewhere...an idea that I quite like.

     So, again, like most teachers, she used what she had. She used ingenuity and gumption to start a baby registry. Um. A what you might ask? Yes. A baby registry....Here...read some more:

Do you want to hear the best news?   No one was in the school building at the time.

Do you want to hear the next-best news?   My amazing friends are helping me restock my classroom already!

In order to have a quick and easy way to maintain a shopping list for my classroom, I first thought of Amazon.   I would be able to keep track of my purchases and have receipts when any insurance money comes back to me.  

Because so many people have offered to help me out right now, I created a baby registry, so they could shop easily as well.   Yep, a baby registry.   And you have to name the father.   That's Mister Tornado to you.

    
     So in order to help Michelle, I want to provide you with the link for her baby registry. (I know, I know...I don't have very many followers, and no one really leaves comments. Hello? Is anyone out there? But .....) You can find it here: Michelle and Mister Tornado's Baby Registry.  Every little bit helps. Every kind word helps. Her blog can be found here: Reinventing a Language Arts Classroom...

     I miss being in my small town. I miss the physical closeness of my family, and the ability to just hop on over and see my sweet Lucy whenever I want. There is something about those places that touch my heart, and remind me to take it easy, take it slow, and remember that family, friends, connections mean so much more than things..... 

     And Michelle, I want you to know that I am sorry that I don't have the words to express what I am feeling, and I am sorry that I am not there to help you rebuild your classroom....which is why I want to help any way that I can....

     Now if you all will excuse me, I have some shopping to do. :)