Although I was born and raised, and still live, in northern Alberta, there will always be a piece of my heart in the city of Calgary. Having spent many weekends there as a child, visiting my grandmother, and then living in the city for three years while I completed my post-secondary education, I often find myself missing the city.
Just last week I booked our hotel rooms for our little family getaway in mid-July, when we’re hoping to visit the Calgary Zoo and simply spend time in the city that we quickly grew to love during our time there.
Needless to say, last week’s flooding in the city certainly hit home. On Thursday night I found myself up late (again), looking at maps of the evacuated areas on the City of Calgary website.
Once I realized my grandmother, who still lives in the city in the home my mom basically grew up in, was in a safe area (only by a few blocks), I was certainly relieved. I went to sleep thinking about the flooding, with the pictures I had previously scrolled through online, finding their way into my dreams.
Watching news reports and seeing the damage that is being caused along familiar streets and parks that I’ve visited on numerous occasions sure made me realize how lucky we are right now in northern Alberta. Seeing the Bowness Park sign over half immerged in floodwaters and the river nearly overflowing onto Memorial Drive made my heart sink (no pun intended).
Devastation can hit anyone, anywhere, and we are certainly not immune in this part of the province to any type of disaster – the Slave Lake fire a few years ago is a prime example – but it is nice to be safe, and dry.
And although none of us ever wants to be put in the situation where we lose our homes, or worse, one thing that always strikes me as amazing during situations like last week’s flooding, is the response received by the affected communities from the rest of the province.
I know there was at least one business in the Lakeland that gathered up clothing and extra stock on Friday morning to send to the relief efforts in southern Alberta. And I’m sure there were countless other examples of people wanting to lend a helping hand.
My Facebook newsfeed was also filled with posts about the flooding. It seemed to be on everyone’s mind and it seemed as if nearly everyone could connect with the devastation in some way.
It proves that in any tragedy, there is always hope, and for that I’m thankful.
