Around the Bend

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Dear Reader:

We are heading home….on the way up Thursday afternoon… as we got closer and closer to the mountains there was a sense of thrilling anticipation to see the next beautiful scene awaiting us as Fall in the North Carolina mountains welcomed us.

Just the idea of having a jacket to wear sent goose bumps down my arms…how long had it been since I had worn a jacket?

And now today…there is also another kind of anticipation awaiting us, around every bend, as we look to see what kind of damage we see from the remains of Matthew.

The most important bend, of course, will be turning onto my road in Summerville and seeing the house and garden for the first time since the storm.

A thought and image flickered through my mind…the photograph Donna Clark gave me after her first visit to St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope.

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I love this old fallen cross near the chapel in Trust, North Carolina. And it is so true…we don’t know what is around the bend but Jesus does and everything will be all right.

So until tomorrow…there will be plenty of shared feelings, photos, and thoughts about the unexpected detour of the last few days. Deep breath, one last prayer, and home awaits.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

 

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”
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